Screening for depression in palliative care patients: a review

Depression is a significant symptom for 25% of patients admitted to a palli ative care unit, but many of these symptoms are not identified and therefor e not treated. Reasons for failure to diagnose depression are misconception s regarding low mood as being a normal part of a terminal illness and also the patients' reluctance to disclose their thoughts and feelings. Medical a nd nursing staff working within palliative care may also find difficulty in distinguishing between what could be called appropriate sadness and a trea table depressive illness. In an effort to improve the detection of depressi on, many professionals are using rating scales or tools in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment. This review discusses the complex issues of d iagnosis of depression and highlights why certain tools may not be so usefu l or applicable in the palliative care population.