Asad A. et al., Med. Res. Chronicles., 8(1), 32-41 2021 32 | Page Download the article from www.medrech.com Medico Research Chronicles ISSN NO. 2394-3971 DOI No. 10.26838/MEDRECH.2021.8.1.459 Contents available at www.medrech.com QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR MANAGEMENT OF DEPRESSION IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS RECEIVING HAEMODIALYSIS Ayesha Asad 1 , Fatima Asad 2 , Muhammad Hamza Abdullah Khan 2 , Dr Nauman Kashif 3 1. Army Medical College, Pakistan 2. Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan 3. Combined Military Hospital, Pakistan ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Article History Received: November 2020 Accepted: January 2021 Introduction: Patients receiving dialysis treatment in Combined Military Hospital, Abbottabad were suffering from some kind of depression and a few of these patients were also attending the psychiatry department for the management of depression. Chronic kidney disease being the commonest indication of dialysis was itself a known cause of depression like any other chronic disease. The longer redundant sessions of dialysis also added up to the existing low mood. Aim: To apply quality improvement methodology and apply a few appropriate interventions to reduce the prevalence of depression. The NICE guidelines 2009 for depression management were used to guide the introduction of appropriate interventions. PHQ-9 was used to score depression before and after the intervention. Methods: Diagrams, flowcharts were used to show aims and objectives. A Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle was used. The prevalence of depression in dialysis patients were calculated using the PHQ-9 questionnaire. A new plan for the dialysis department decoration and the introduction of facilities was formulated with input from the dialysis department staff. Help from NICE guidelines for depression management was taken and an increase in the availability of junior doctors for counseling and responding to the patient's condition was made. Results:120 patients involved in the dialysis sessions were targeted in this project for the six months duration. 40% of the patients were found to be suffering from moderate-moderately severe depression (score range 10-19) via the filled PHQ-9 questionnaire. Four months after the introduction of various changes the PHQ-9 was filled by the same patients. Now the prevalence of depression reduced to 10%. The patient's still scored as being depressed were in the mild depression range(i.e. score on PHQ:5-9). Conclusion: Following the implementations especially focusing on the counseling sessions (as mentioned in NICE guidelines)and increasing Keywords: Depression, Chronic Kidney Disease, Management, Haemodialysis