Depression assessment for patients with CHD

Assessment

The American Heart Association recommends screening all patients with coronary artery disease for depression. https://www.natap.org/2019/HIV/041019_04.htm

That screening for depression with patients with CHD should include hospitals, doctor’s offices, clinics, and cardiac rehabilitation centers. The opportunity to screen for and treat depression in cardiac patients is important since effective depression treatment may improve health outcomes (Lichtman et al. (2008). There are a number of depression assessment tools. The following is a list with a brief description of each of them. The Patient health questionnaire 2 (PhQ-2), which is listed as a brief tool easily used with patients, is described in whole. It appears to be the most used tool. https://www.apa.org/depression-guideline/assessment

Depression assessment tools

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) – contains 21 self-report items and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It has been well tested for validity and reliability. There is a fee to acquire the tool. https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Personality-%26-Biopsychosocial/Beck-Depression-Inventory/p/100000159.html

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a 20 self-report item questionnaire. It has been well tested for validity and reliability. It takes about 20 minutes to administer. There is no fee to purchase the tool. https://www.apa.org/depression-guideline/epidemiologic-studies-scale.pdf

The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) is a 21-item tool administered by health care professionals. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to administer and has been tested for reliability. It is in the public domain and free to obtain. https://www.apa.org/depression-guideline/hamilton-rating-scale.pdf

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a self-report tool that takes about five minutes to complete. It is available in multiple languages and has been tested for validity. It is in the public domain and is free to use. It is presented below. https://www.apa.org/depression-guideline/patient-health-questionnaire.pdf