Depression Screening and Suicide Risk Assessment in Older Patients

Robinson, Faith

Item

Depression Screening and Suicide Risk Assessment in Older Patients

Robinson, Faith

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Abstract

Older adults are at an increased risk of depression, but they are often undiagnosed and untreated. Depression is also a significant predictor of suicide in older Americans, who have among the highest rates of suicide of all age groups in the United States. Most older adults seek treatment in primary care settings and are less likely to use emergency interventions, so knowing how to screen for depression and suicide risk is crucial for primary care. Unfortunately, primary care providers, while being first-line for identifying depression, accurately recognize less than half of patients with depression. This pamphlet is aimed at increasing provider awareness of tools they can use to screen for depression and asses suicide risk in older patients.