Date of Conferral

2-6-2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Patricia Schweickert

Abstract

This staff education doctoral project focused on educating nursing staff about the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression screening in inpatient psychiatric care. Addressing this issue is crucial, as poor adherence leads to missed diagnoses and treatment, increased hospital visits, and poor patient outcomes. Low adherence to the PHQ-9 depression screening protocol has emerged as a significant practice gap. The purpose of this doctoral project was to increase nursing staff knowledge of the PHQ-9 depression screening tool in psychiatric care through staff education. The practice-focused question was: Does education on PHQ-9 depression symptoms improve nursing staff knowledge as compared pre- to post-education? The Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice model was used to synthesize evidence. A total of 20 articles were reviewed, and 12 support this project. The levels of evidence included Level I-Systematic Review, Level II-Randomized Controlled Trial, Level III-Observational Cohort Study, Level IV-Cross-Sectional Study, and Level V-Literature Review. Three in-person classroom sessions were delivered with a total of 10 participants. A pre- and post-education knowledge test was administered to evaluate the impact of the educational project. A paired-samples t test showed a statistically significant increase in scores with a mean difference of 3.8, indicating that the program effectively improved staff knowledge of the PHQ-9, p < .001. Deliverables include an educational program adaptable to various healthcare settings. Recommendations include expanding the intervention to larger, diverse groups and using longitudinal studies to assess long-term impacts. This project holds important implications for nursing practice, emphasizing the role of education in addressing disparities in mental health care.

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