Project Summary

Richard Kennedy, M.D. (Young Investigator 2002) of Virginia Commonwealth University, will provide a psychiatric evaluation for patients admitted to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation unit to diagnose them as having or not having major depression.  A commonly used geriatric depression scale will also be administered.  Dr. Kennedy predicts that TBI patients with major depression will have high values on these scales, while those without major depression will not.  If so, these scales would be useful in screening for depression and in monitoring treatment, despite the cognitive difficulties of TBI patients.  Rehabilitation professionals, not specifically trained as psychiatrists, would be better able to detect these patients and make appropriate referrals.  This would enhance the care of a substantial number of patients suffering from this common consequence (40% develop depression in the year after injury).

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Depression (Unipolar)

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