Award Date

1-1-2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Nursing

First Committee Member

Michele Clark

Number of Pages

72

Abstract

Depression continues to be a major global issue with devastating and potentially fatal implications. Inherent to the role of the nurse practitioner are depression recognition, diagnosis, and screening behaviors. Since psychology theorist Bandura considers self-efficacy vital for the ability to master behaviors, it is imperative nurse practitioners possess self-efficacy when managing depression in the adult patient; The purpose of this study was to compare the practice patterns of nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and medical doctors (MDs) related to their depression recognition, diagnosing, training, screening, and self-efficacy. The sample consisted of 65 NPs, 16 PAs, and 14 MDs practicing in the state of Nevada. When primary care providers (PCP) were asked to identify perceived barriers to recognizing depression MDs indicated "lack of time" (U=119.5, p=0.018) and "culture" (U=69.00, p=0.011) significantly more than NPs. No significant differences were found between the three PCP types with regards to diagnosis barriers, informal/formal training, screening practices, and self-efficacy with managing depression.

Keywords

Assistants Care; Depression; Doctors; Examination; Medical; Nurse; Patterns; Physician; Practitioners; Primary; Screening

Controlled Subject

Nursing; Mental health; Clinical psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1515.52 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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