Improving Patient Outcomes with the PHQ-9 in a Longitudinal Sample of Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract: This study investigated the implementation of depression screening with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) in inpatient psychiatric care in a tri-state hospital group, Oceans Healthcare. Clinicians, including social workers, mental health counselors, and other staff, administered, scored, and tracked PHQ-9 scores at intake and discharge to identify symptom severity and the impact of Oceans’ therapeutic interventions. PHQ-9 scores significantly improved over treatment with socio-demographic differences that resemble former literature in outpatient and cross-sectional samples. Our work extends these findings by conducting longitudinal, outcomes-based screening with the PHQ-9 in a large sample of psychiatric inpatients.Short Description: The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely used depression screen. However, little work has investigated its longitudinal utility in psychiatric inpatient settings in hospital-wide samples. This study investigates the PHQ-9’s feasibility, clinical utility, and impact on treatment outcomes and assesses differences by socio-demographic groups among psychiatric inpatients in Oceans Healthcare.Name of Sponsoring Organization(s): N/A