Depression Screening and Management Practices at a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre

Abstract

Depression is a serious problem affecting cancer patients. The current study examined depression screening and management behaviour at a tertiary care cancer centre. Ten oncologists and ten nurses took part in this study, and were interviewed. The interview covered clinician’s current depression screening and management practices, and the Theory of Planned Behaviour was applied to better understand screening behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was used in this study because it is useful in conceptualizing individual’s behaviour. Results indicated clinicians screened for depressed mood. Participants also reported managing depressed patients by indicating they referred patients to other clinicians. Finally, within the Theory of Planned Behaviour, subjective norms were related to past intention to screen for depression, and past intention to screen was related to past screening behaviour. In summary, this study found that depression is screened for, depression is managed appropriately in patients, and some components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour are useful in understanding screening behaviour.