Article Analysis Essay on Depression Screening in the School Setting: Identification of the Depressed Adolescent

Title and Author of the Article

The article analyses depression screening in the school setting. It tries to identify a depressed adolescent. The authors include Wan Ching Law, Rachel McClanahan and Penny C. Weismuller.

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Introduction

The article discusses adolescent depression as a silent epidemic in the country. It addresses the detrimental effects of depression on physical health, psychological well-being and academic productivity. The article and the associated learning module provides school nurses with updated information on adolescent depression and discusses the barriers to depression screening.

Problem Statement

The problem statement is clear and well-defined. The various variables under consideration include the extremely low screening rates, the alarming increase in the number of adolescents who meet the diagnostic criteria or have a major depression episode. The study has the potential to solve the problem of depression screening as well as its occurrence among the youth.

Literature Review

The literature review provides a logical sequence that aligns with the study. It provides a review of the effects of depression as well as the symptoms as defined by the statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V). It also highlights the characters exhibited by students with depression. The potential gap in the literature is the background research on the possible causes of depression among students.

Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis

The researcher stipulates the theoretical basis for the formulation of a hypothesis. The article focuses on the assessment of depression among adolescents who present themselves to the school nurse. The hypothesis is stated precisely and in a manner that permits it to be tested, i.e. improving the understanding and awareness on adolescent depression and learning how to use a validated depression screening tool would better equip nurses to identify and refer students in need.

Methodology

The relevant variables and concepts which include the rates of depressive symptoms and suicidal risks are clearly defined. The design is appropriate for the research questions as it is easy to use and requires short administration and scoring time. The methodology involved the collection of a sample of students suffering from depressive symptoms and comparing their results with the patient healthcare questionnaire-9 to identify the severity of the depressive episode to establish the most appropriate remedy to the student.

Instruments

The most appropriate instruments for data collection are used, i.e. questionnaires since they are done individually and would help to depict the state of an individual student. The PHQ-9 is a valid and reliable tool that is agreed upon by most experts for adolescent screening.

Data Analysis

Analysis of data involves the use of the patient health questionnaire-9 item survey. The appropriate statistics were used alongside the various levels of measurement as stipulated by the PHQ-9 scores chart. The population based on a sample of adolescents in school.

Results

The results show that students with scores of 5 to 9 should be observed periodically, as required by the nurse. A score of equal to or greater than 10 is considered moderate to severe depression and should be referred for professional care and regular follow-up activities in short intervals. A student that responds to item 9 on the PHQ-9 contemplates self-harm and is suicidal.

Conclusion

The conclusions reached on from the study include:

Adolescent depression is a silent epidemic in the society and might result in devastating consequences if untreated.

The school nurses are the best positioned personnel to help bridge the mental health services gap for the students since they are the most accessible health care providers in a school set up.

The school nurses should be trained to recognize and screen for adolescent depression using cost-effective ways, i.e. using online education modules on adolescent depression screening.

Research Utilization Implications

The study is of sufficient quality and meets the criterion of scientific merit as it addresses vital issues that are prevalent in schooling adolescents and provide solutions to the problems as well as the vital stakeholders. It meets the criterion of replicability since at any point in time, in a school set up, nurses play a pivotal role in providing mental health services, hence should be well versed with the vice.

Reference

Wan Ching, L., Rachel, M., Penny C. W., (2017). Depression Screening in the School Setting: Identification of the Depressed Adolescent. NASN School Nurse. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1942602X17726095#articleCitationDownloadContainer