Letter to the Editor

Public Outreach Depression Screening: Collaboration between Medical Education and Integrative Primary Care

Authors: Pooja Sukhwani, BA, Rahul P. Prasankumar, BS, Fasih A. Hameed, BA, Kyle L. Widmer, BA, Keith L. Winfrey, MD, MPH, Paul Rodenhauser, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:Depression in the primary care setting is often undertreated and under-recognized, especially within the public health sector. Because depression is associated with medical illness, poverty, and minority status, a group of Tulane medical students recognized the need for a public health depression-screening program in New Orleans. With the help of the Louisiana State Department of Mental Health, we, the authors, designed, implemented and managed a barrier-sensitive depression-screening program in an inner-city public health clinic. Primary care physicians already serving this community offered antidepressant medication and third year Tulane students offered supervised supportive psychotherapy to patients whose scores on the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) indicated evidence of depression. BDI-II scores range from 0 (not depressed) to 63 (severely depressed) with a score of 14 indicating mild depression. Our Public Outreach Depression Screening (PODS) program embodied educational opportunities for medical students, primary care physicians and clinic staff, in addition to clinical services tailored to the needs of depressed patients.

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