Literature search
Literature review is the systematic search for already published articles to identify quality references for a specific topic. It is a crucial step in executing reliable research because it enables the researcher to formulate research questions and identify gaps in the existing literature that require further studies and in planning the research. Besides, it enables the researcher to acquire information to formulate evidence-based guidelines. Often, many articles are available for a specific topic, which requires the researcher to be knowledgeable in choosing the appropriate articles, which are relevant to their study (Grewal et al., 2016).
During the literature search for an article related to my research topic, I came across an article by Richardson et al., (2010). The authors argue that by the age of 18, about 20% of youth experience a minimum of one episode of major depression. Depressed teens are at a higher risk of early pregnancies, social isolation, nicotine dependence, and drug abuse. In the U.S., less than 50% of adolescents suffering from mental health illnesses receive treatment (Richardson et al., 2010). Younger age of depression onset predisposes a person to depressive disorders as well as a delay in medical management, with more than 72% of depressed teenagers not receiving treatment until later life (Richardson et al., 2010). Richardson and colleagues conducted a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2). The survey included 499 adolescents aged between thirteen and seventeen who were enrolled in an incorporated healthcare system. 98% of the participants completed the assessment, which included the use of two screening tools; PHQ-2 and PHQ-9. The study results identified the PHQ-2 tool as having good sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing depression among adolescents. For instance, PHQ-2 had 96% sensitivity and 82% specificity in diagnosing teenagers with depression, compared to the written questionnaire, which is PHQ-9 because of the brief nature of the tool. The article only used screening questions to diagnose depression. It omitted the helping question, which, according to Lombardo et al., 2011, improves the specificity of the screening tool and helps in discussing management strategies for patients diagnosed with depression.
References
Grewal, A., Kataria, H., & Dhawan, I. (2016). Literature search for research planning and identification of research problem. Indian journal of anaesthesia, 60(9), 635. https:// doi: 10.4103/0019-5049.190618
Lombardo, P., Vaucher, P., Haftgoli, N., Burnand, B., Favrat, B., Verdon, F., … & Herzig, L. (2011). The’help’question doesn’t help when screening for major depression: external validation of the three-question screening test for primary care patients managed for physical complaints. BMC medicine, 9(1), 114.
Richardson, L. P., Rockhill, C., Russo, J. E., Grossman, D. C., Richards, J., McCarty, C., … & Katon, W. (2010). Evaluation of the PHQ-2 as a brief screen for detecting major depression among adolescents. Pediatrics, 125(5), e1097-e1103. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-2712