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Primary Care Provider Resource for Traumatic Brain Injury Heersink School of Medicine

Depression - Assessment & Diagnostic Considerations

When assessing or measuring depression, use depression measures that have been validated in the TBI population, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9 in PDF), a brief depression screen comprised of 9-items that correspond to the DSM-IV criteria for depression.

NOTE
  • Self-report measures of depression should never be used alone in diagnosing depression. Rather, screening tools should serve to alert the clinician and patient endorsement of screening items should be discussed by physician with the patient for clarification. For example, if a patient endorses insomnia, further questioning can determine if this is due to depressed mood or other TBI-related issues such as:
    • Sleep

 Resourses

Treating Depression Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Summary for Clinicians (PDF). Copyright © 2010 Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC). Based on Fann JR, Hart T, Schomer KG. (2009). Treatment for Depression Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review. J. Neurotrauma.2009 Aug 21. doi:10.1089/neu.2009.1091.

Hart T, Brenner L, Clark AN, Bogner JA, Novack TA, Chervoneva I, Nakase-Richardson R, Arango-Lasprilla JC. Major and minor depression after traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Aug;92(8):1211-9. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2011.03.005

 

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The University of Alabama at Birmingham Traumatic Brain Injury Model System provides this website as an auxiliary resource for the primary care of patients with spinal cord injury.The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90DPTB0029). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this website do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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