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The systematic assessment of depressed elderly primary care patients
Author(s) -
Raue Patrick J.,
Alexopoulos George S.,
Bruce Martha L.,
Klimstra Sibel,
Mulsant Benoit H.,
Gallo Joseph J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.469
Subject(s) - anxiety , comorbidity , psychology , depression (economics) , primary care , psychiatry , medicine , clinical psychology , family medicine , economics , macroeconomics
Studies of the primary care treatment of depressed elderly patients are constrained by limited time and space and by subject burden. Research assessments must balance these constraints with the need for obtaining clinically meaningful information. Due to the wide‐ranging impact of depression, assessments should also focus on suicidality, hopelessness, substance abuse, anxiety, cognitive functioning, medical comorbidity, functional disability, social support, personality, service use and satisfaction with services. This paper describes considerations concerning the assessment selection process for primary care studies, using the PROSPECT (Prevention of Suicide in Primary Care Elderly: Collaborative Trial) study as an example. Strategies are discussed for ensuring that data are complete, valid and reliable. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.