Psychological Evaluation of Depression in In-Patients of a General Hospital

Abstract

This study was developed at general hospital, in São Paulo, with the purpose of making a psychological evaluation through Adaptive Operational Diagnostic Scale (Edao in Portuguese) and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), verifying the possibility to identify depressive symptoms associated with different pathologies that motivate patient internment. Several inter-appointment requests occur by people from health group to psychological and/or psychiatry service to evaluate and interfere with in-patients that seem “unhappy, apathetic, and weepy”. These requests show the importance of depression disorder diagnostics. Depression is intimately linked with low adherence to medical treatment and to mortality. A specific intervention support the faster recovery of patient, improving his/her quality of life and decreasing internment expenses. In this research two cut points were made. One of them is suggested where the score from 18 to 19 would bring out an estimation of depression possibility. Second one, suggested that classify a score above 15 as disphoria and above 20 points as depression. The research was carried out with 29 adults in-patients, both genders. The research was qualitative, according to a psychoanalytical approach. The results according to the BDI were: Possible depression (13.8%) and No Alterations (86.2%). According to the Edao: 40% of the sample showed Efficient Adaptation; 30% showed Moderate Inefficient Adaptation; and 10% showed Severe Inefficient Adaptation. The conclusion is that the BDI showed to be an efficient instrument in helping to detect mood alterations related to disphoria and depression, and that Edao gives to the psychologist an evaluation which together with the BDI enables the understanding of the evolution of depression aswell as the degree of patients’ adaptation in a hospital environment.