Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026
Individualized rTMS Treatment for Depression using an fMRI-Based Targeting Method
Published on: August 2, 2021
A 2-item screen for depression in rehabilitation inpatients
Jeffrey A Cully1, David P Graham, Jennifer R Kramer
1Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies, Veterans Affairs HSR&D Center of Excellence, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. jcully@bcm.tmc.edu
Objective:
To generate a brief screening measure to assist frontline rehabilitation health care workers to rapidly and validly screen patients for depressive symptoms.
Design:
Case series.
Setting:
Inpatient rehabilitation unit.
Participants:
Five hundred patients (age, >/=60y) cognitively able to complete the outcome measure.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure:
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).
Results:
Based on the strength of the correlation with the GDS total score, 5 items were selected for model development. A 2-item screen, consisting of items "downhearted and blue" and "worthless," correctly classified 78.4% of patients, with only 3.6% of patients having false-negative classifications. The 2-item screen did not differ significantly in its accuracy or predictive utility from the more inclusive models.
Conclusions:
The identified 2-item screening instrument may be an effective tool for health care staffs to use in their efforts to identify symptoms of depression in older adults on a rehabilitation unit.
