Providing Education to Improve Utilization of the Phq-9 in a Primary Care Clinic

Abstract

Purpose: Among healthcare providers and staff at a primary care clinic, this quality improvement (QI) project aimed to increase knowledge on depression and improve intent to incorporate use of the PHQ-9 depression screening tool as an evidence-based practice to screen for depression in patients with chronic health conditions. Background: Nearly 17.3 million adults in the United States (US) experience at least one major depressive episode in their lives, and those with chronic health conditions are three times more likely to have depression. Depression screening is recommended to be part of a primary care wellness visit, however, uptake in practice remains insufficient. Primary care providers and staff may only screen when a patient is symptomatic but fail to screen those who do not express symptoms of depression. There is a need to explore strategies that increase depression screening in adults with chronic diseases during routine primary care visits. Methods: A literature review informed the development of a digital educational module on depression and use of the evidence-based PHQ-9 depression screening tool in practice. A pre-post survey design was used to assess provider and staff knowledge and intent to change practice. The project was implemented over a 2-week period at a primary care clinic in Anthem, Arizona. Seven out of the eleven recruited participants engaged in the educational module and completed both pre- and post-surveys. Data collection and analysis was done using Qualtrics to report descriptive statistics for variability and central tendency. Results: Seven participants completed the educational module and pre- and post-surveys in its entirety. Between the pre- and post-survey, there was an increase in perceived importance of depression screening in those with chronic health conditions. Additionally, participant willingness to utilize the PHQ-9 increased after the educational intervention. Conclusion: The results of this project support the use of digital presentation on depression and evidence-based strategies to increase screening in practice, improve healthcare provider and staff knowledge and intent to change practice at a primary care clinic in Anthem, Arizona. More quality improvement cycles are needed to evaluate the impact of educational intervention on uptake of PHQ-9 depression screening tool into practice.