Date of Conferral

4-21-2025

Date of Award

April 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Melissa Rouse

Abstract

Depression represents a significant public health concern that often remains undiagnosed or untreated, primarily due to insufficient systematic screening in primary care settings. The lack of standardized screening tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) elevates patient risks, increasing symptom severity, increasing suicide rates, and delaying interventions. Research studies show that a significant number of individuals with depression go untreated for long durations, with primary care settings recognizing only a small percentage of cases. The PHQ-9 is an effective tool for assessing and monitoring depression in a primary care setting, leading to early detection of symptom severity. Clinical practice observations at the practice site indicate that numerous healthcare providers lack knowledge on the significance of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and often depend on subjective assessments instead of standardized tools, which impacts diagnostic consistency and treatment outcomes. To address this gap in clinical practice, a structured staff education project to educate healthcare providers is necessary to enhance provider knowledge in utilizing the PHQ-9 for the detection and tracking of depression severity symptoms. This initiative aimed to enhance provider knowledge and intent to use the PHQ-9 tool. The pre-knowledge assessment average score was 4.5/10. The post-knowledge score was 10/11. Intent to use was 100%. This answered the practice focused question. This project impacts positive social change by improving mental health awareness, early detection of depression by enhancing provider knowledge, and implementing standardized depression screening with the PHQ-9.

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