Depression screening among Haitian immigrants: A quality-improvement project

Haitians frequently encounter barriers during screening for depression. This quality-improvement project evaluated the effectiveness of depression screening tools specifically adapted for Haitian Creole-speaking populations.

The English version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), widely used to screen for depressive symptoms, may not accurately assess depression due to cultural and linguistic nuances.

The plan-do-study-act method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the culturally adapted Haitian Creole PHQ-9 and Zanmi Lasante Depression Symptom Inventory (ZLDSI) in comparison to the English PHQ-9 among 50 Haitian adults who had completed the English PHQ-9 six months before implementing this quality-improvement project.

The Haitian Creole PHQ-9 and ZLDSI were administered over 3 months during routine clinic visits to screen Haitians for depression. Patients who met diagnostic criteria for depression were identified and referred for further mental health services.

Diagnostic accuracy was comparable across the three tools: 6% scored mild-to-moderate depression on the English PHQ-9 and the ZLDSI, whereas 10% did so on the Haitian Creole PHQ-9 and were referred to mental health services. The Haitian Creole PHQ-9 and ZLDSI were more sensitive in detecting culturally nuanced symptoms, flagging near-threshold cases at higher risk of depression. Internal consistency reliability was 0.905 for the ZLDSI, 0.798 for the Haitian Creole PHQ-9, and 0.710 for the English PHQ-9.

Nurse practitioners should use culturally and linguistically responsive screening tools for Haitian immigrants to better capture depressive symptoms, identify those at risk, bridge the diagnostic gap, and ensure appropriate referrals.