Date of Conferral

8-22-2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Kelly Fisher

Abstract

The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project at a community health center (CHC) addressed a performance improvement measure related to the usability of the depression screening tool, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), for patients 12 years and older. At CHC, the mental health providers underutilized this tool, leading to missed opportunities in identifying patients 12 years and older with depressive disorders. These missed opportunities may contribute to suboptimal patient treatment outcomes. The purpose of the staff educational program was to increase CHC staffs’ understanding of the PHQ-9 screening tool for routine depression screening. Ten mental health providers participated in the program, completing a pretest, and 9 out of 10 completed the posttest. Descriptive analysis of the data revealed that prior to the education program, 10% of the participants had knowledge of the PHQ-9 and always utilized the screening tool. Findings from the postintervention indicated a marked improvement in staff knowledge of the PHQ-9 tool and the likelihood of utilization at initial and interval visits. The PHQ-9 education program enhanced staff’s ability to identify and manage depression using standardized, evidence-based practice screening tool. The use of this tool may improve the quality of care and clinical decision making while also ensuring equitable screening across diverse patient populations. The education program may drive positive social change by advancing access and equity in mental health treatment with improved and more consistent screening using the PHQ-9.

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