Screening for Depression in Low-Income Elderly Patients at the Primary Care Level: Use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2

Abstract

The simplicity of the PHQ-2 is an advantage for its use in PC. The high NPV indicated that 90% of those who tested negative would not need additional tests. However, the low PPV indicated that the PHQ-2 is not sufficient to screen for depression. The application of the instrument could be the first step of the screening, that would include a second step to all those with positive tests formerly.