Integration of geriatric mental health screening into a primary care practice: a patient satisfaction survey

Abstract

Objective Colocation of mental health screening, assessment, and treatment in primary care reduces stigma, improves access, and increases coordination of care between mental health and primary care providers. However, little information exists regarding older adults’ attitudes about screening for mental health problems in primary care. The objective of this study was to evaluate older primary care patients’ acceptance of and satisfaction with screening for depression and anxiety. Methods The study was conducted at an urban, academically affiliated primary care practice serving older adults. Study patients (N = 107) were screened for depression/anxiety and underwent a post-screening survey/interview to assess their reactions to the screening experience. Results Most patients (88.6%) found the length of the screening to be “just right.” A majority found the screening questions somewhat or very acceptable (73.4%) and not at all difficult (81.9%). Most participants did not find the questions stressful (84.9%) or intrusive (91.5%); and a majority were not at all embarrassed (93.4%), upset (93.4%), or uncomfortable (88.8%) during the screening process. When asked about frequency of screening, most patients (72.4%) desired screening for depression/anxiety yearly or more. Of the 79 patients who had spoken with their physicians about mental health during the visit, 89.8% reported that it was easy or very easy to talk with their physicians about depression/anxiety. Multivariate results showed that patients with higher anxiety had a lower positive reaction to the screen when controlling for gender, age, and patient–physician communication. Conclusions These results demonstrate strong patient support for depression and anxiety screening in primary care.

Psychiatric Assessment and Screening for the Elderly in Primary Care: Design, Implementation, and Preliminary Results

“…We had earlier found that the experience of being screened was itself well-accepted by the patients [24, 25]. Further, we were able, without employing research assistants dedicated to the project and therefore avoiding additional expenditure, to screen over one-third of the unique individuals presenting to the center during the study period.…”

Implementation of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Elderly-Friendly Public Health Centers and General Public Health Centers in Bandung

“…Early detection will help identify psychological or mental health problems in the elderly. 20 This study has some limitations. The CGA should be carried out for a new elderly patient.…”

Older adults' attitudes toward depression screening in primary care settings and exploring a brief educational pamphlet

“…Since the time of this study, integration of mental health in PC has become more possible with incentives from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, of . Even in this integrated care setting, Samuels et al () learned similarly that half found frequent screenings acceptable.…”

“…To date, we found only two other relevant studies evaluating OAs' willingness to engage in depression screening (Davis et al, ; Samuels et al, ), both finding that most were willing to engage in depression screening. Even fewer studies have evaluated brief educational interventions for depression to reduce patient resistance.…”