Educational Intervention to Improve Provider Self-Efficacy in Patient Health Questionnaire

The underutilized Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale is a screening tool that can improve depression detection and management. Lack of self-efficacy and positive beliefs in this scale are two key components contributing to underutilization. The purpose of this evidence-based quasi-experimental single cohort pre post-test intervention was to increase self-efficacy and positive beliefs in the Patient Health Questionnaire. A total of 19 retail healthcare providers in Missouri participated in this quality improvement intervention. The Evidence-Based Practice Belief scale measured self-efficacy and beliefs before and after a 17-minute virtual educational intervention on the Patient Health Questionnaire. After the educational intervention and data collection, single-tailed paired t-tests were used to measure self-efficacy and belief outcomes. The project revealed a mean total Patient Healthcare Questionnaire self-efficacy and positive belief score increase of 14.4% (p < .001). Increasing retail healthcare provider self-efficacy and positive beliefs in this tool is predicted to have a beneficial impact on scale use and depression detection.