Validated Tools for Assessing Anxiety and Depression in Nurses: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Mental Health Assessment
• Psychometric Validation

Background:

• Nurses report high rates of anxiety and depression.
• Validated instruments are crucial for assessing these conditions in nurses.
• This study aimed to identify existing assessment tools for nurses' mental health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify instruments used for assessing anxiety and depression in nurses.
• To evaluate the characteristics and limitations of currently used tools.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of quantitative studies published between 2014-2024 was conducted.
• Searches were performed across MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases.
• Data were extracted from 22 studies involving 10,710 nurses, with quality appraised using JBI checklists.

Main Results:

• Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria, primarily using cross-sectional designs with moderate to high risk of bias.
• The most frequently utilized instruments were the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
• The PHQ (including PHQ-2 and PHQ-9) was the most prevalent measure; meta-analysis was not feasible due to heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• Existing instruments can support routine mental health screening for nurses.
• Limitations include reliance on self-report measures and a lack of formal cross-cultural validation in practicing nurses.
• Future screening programs should combine self-report tools with objective indicators and standardized protocols, prioritizing contextualized validation and longitudinal designs.