Post- Tania
Respond to the post bellow by comparing your assessment tool to theirs.
NOTE: my assessment tool: The patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
Main Post
For the purpose of this discussion, the assessment tool that shall be analyzed is the Geriatric Depression Scale. It is important to note that depression in elderly patients is a common problem and this leads to significant emotional suffering and loss of quality of life. Depression in elderly patients also lead to increase in the risk of physical inactivity as well as disability. As elderly persons grow older an get to the age of 80 and above, depression becomes prevalent especially if they live in nursing homes or if they suffer from dementia (Conradsson, Rosendahl, Littbrand, Gustafson, Olofsson & Lovheim, 2013). Unfortunately, regardless of the fast that depression is more common than dementia in old age, it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated (Allan, Valkanova & Ebmeier, 2014). It is because of this that there is need to have a proper tool for diagnosing depression in geriatric patients. The tool should be effective in regard to the assessment process and help in the evaluation of treatment in order to monitor progress. One such tool is the Geriatric Depression Scale.
