Nurs 440 - Assessment Tools for Vulnerable Populations

Assessment Tools for Vulnerable Populations

NURS 440

July 12, 2011

Diane Dale

Assessment Tools for Vulnerable Populations

The selected assessment tools are the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.. The two surveys related to last weeks paper, which discussed the stress and depression of the single mother head of household.

The Beck Depression Inventory was initially created to evaluate the severity of depression and monitor the response to treatment in adults and adolescents. The Beck Depression Inventory is used as a predictive tool for suicidal behaviors. The test can be used for suspected depression in people aged 13-80 (Conoley, 2010; Munden, 2007; Smith & Erford, 2001). The test asks how often the test taker has difficulty concentrating, crying, suicidal thoughts, and guilty feelings. Elderly and ill patients score higher on questions regarding their physical symptoms (Munden, 2007).

The Beck Depression Inventory must be carefully administered. The test administrator must evaluate the test taker's intentions because the test can be easily faked. The test taker can, based upon the question and their truthfulness, either hide their suicidal intentions or cause an overestimation of their depression (Conoley, 2010; Kneipp, Kairalla, Stacciarini, & Pereira, 2009).

The test consists of 21 question. Each question has four possible answers. The time estimated to complete the test is five to ten minutes. The test is written at a fifth grade reading level (Conoley, 2010; Smith & Erford, 2001).

The Beck Depression Inventory has been in use for over 25 years. More than 1,900 article that have used or cited the Beck Depression Inventory. The test has been translated into several languages and used by different cultural groups (Conoley, 2010). The test has been validated against other psychological tests. In a clinical study of 127 college student, the test yielded 93% true positive (Smith & Erford, 2001).

Several choices are available when purchasing the Beck Depression Inventory. It can be purchased as a complete kit of 25 manuals and records for $53.00. A second choice is to purchase 25 manuals for $25.50 or 25 records for $27.50. Another choice is to purchase 100 records for $104.50. The test is also available in Spanish for the same prices (Smith & Erford, 2001).

The Revised Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was created to provide a method to rate the level of depression. The test assists in the confirmation of depression and its impact on the person's activities of daily living (Burnett, 2004). The test is the gold standard for assessing depression in a patient (Bagby, Ryder, Schuller