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Research Article| Volume 12, ISSUE 4, P209-218, August 1998

Measuring depression in hospitalized, medically ill, older adults

  • Lenore H. Kurlowicz
    Correspondence
    Address reprint requests to Lenore H. Kurlowicz, PhD, RN, CS, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 420 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096.
    Affiliations
    School of Nursing, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
    Search for articles by this author
  • Joel E. Streim
    Affiliations
    School of Nursing, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
    Search for articles by this author
Open AccessDOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9417(98)80026-5
Measuring depression in hospitalized, medically ill, older adults
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      Studies have consistently shown high prevalence rates of depression associated with negative medical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes in hospitalized, medically ill, older adults. Several issues pose challenges to measurement of depression in this population. In particular, symptoms simultaneously attributable to both medical illness and psychiatric problems may confound measurement of depression, and there is no distinct boundary between normal and abnormal symptoms. This article critiques prevalence research methods used to measure depression in hospitalized, medically ill, older adults and makes recommendations regarding future measurement approaches in both research and clinical practice. Through the identification of appropriate methods for measurement of depression in this population, psychiatric nurses can make a valuable contribution in this area of research as well as enhance effective case-finding and evaluation of depression in older, hospitalized, medically ill patients in the clinical setting.

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      Article info

      Footnotes

      Supported by grants from the National Institutes for Nursing Research (NIH) predoctoral fellowship #F31 NRO6994-01, NIMH Grant #MH01300, Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, and the Frank Morgan Jones Fund.

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      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9417(98)80026-5

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      © 1998 W.B. Saunders Company. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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