Reducing depressive symptoms in nursing home residents: Evaluation of the Pennsylvania depression collaborative quality improvement program

Depression reduces quality of life for nursing home (NH) residents and places them at greater risk for disability, medical morbidity, and mortality. However, accumulating evidence suggests that interventions for early detection and treatment can mitigate symptoms of clinical and subclinical levels of depression. The Promoting Positive Well-Being (PPW) program is a quality improvement (QI) intervention that features tools and strategies to assist NHs in early identification, assessment, treatment, and monitoring of residents with depressive symptoms. The PPW was evaluated in 40 NHs through an 8-month QI collaborative that provided participants with tools, webinar training, and technical support. Results showed a significant group by time interaction effect with facility quality rating as a covariate; the active group (n = 18NHs) out performed the waitlist control group (n=19NHs). In all, there was a 58% relative reduction in the percentage of residents with self-reported moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms. Most NHs reported that theywere satisfied with the collaborative (97%) and would recommend it to others (86%); only 15% reported significant challenges. The rate of webinar attendance and data submission compliance was 92%. Results suggest that PPW is a promising approach that should be further evaluated in larger NH initiatives and other settings.