Date of Conferral

8-2-2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Corinne Romano

Abstract

Summary This doctoral project was on staff education. The practice problem was a knowledge deficit regarding depression screening by staff nurses at a local acute inpatient psychiatric facility. The practice-focused question was as follows: Will education on depression screening for young adults (18-to-28-year-olds) increase knowledge on the use of evidence-based depression screening tools by nursing staff in an inpatient psychiatric crisis facility? The purpose of the doctoral project was to educate staff nurses at a local acute inpatient psychiatric facility on the PHQ-9 depression screening tool for individuals aged 18 to 28 years. The project included a PowerPoint presentation, a pretest, and a posttest, which were distributed to 11 staff nurses. A pretest consisting of 10 questions was developed to assess baseline knowledge levels, while a posttest with 10 questions was created to measure the impact of the education. Descriptive statistics used in the doctoral project involved comparing pretest and posttest scores to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. The average pretest score was 75.45%, and the average score posttest score was 81.82%. These findings indicated an increase in knowledge among staff nurses after they viewed the PowerPoint presentation on the PHQ-9 depression screening tool. A recommendation for the facility is to integrate this education into mandatory modules. The potential implications for nursing practice involve addressing the gap in depression screening. Increasing the rates of early assessments for patients with depression will foster early treatment interventions and promote positive social change. Additionally, ensuring the fair distribution of mental health resources improves quality care.

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