Hildegard Peplau Nursing Theory

Depression Screening Depression is the most commonly diagnosed illness in the United States (Klein, Proctor, Boudreault, & Turczyn). Depression amongst the homeless has historically-speaking been difficult to treat. The homeless population is transient and therefore continuity of care and compliance with medication and follow-up treatment is challenging. The homeless population is neither trusting nor compliant with treatment due to many factors. Some of the reasons for non-trust are due to the way the public perceives the homeless. Other reasons are financial constraints and lack of insurance.
Creating a relationship with the patient is vital for compliance to treatment. By using Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations, which
The six main roles are: stranger, teacher, resource person, counselor, surrogate, and leader (Peplau theory of interpersonal relations, n.d.). Using each of these roles and applying them may allow the practitioner a way to easily implement the PHQ-9 survey and encourage the patient with mental illness into both treatment and compliance with the treatment plan. The homeless population is steadily increasing along with the percentage of homeless with mental illness. The problem must be addressed in order to reach the Healthy People 2020 goal of 41% receiving treatment (Healthy People , 2014). . As trust develops, there are more difficult issues to explore that are especially prevalent among homeless persons. These include mental illness, addiction, history or current fear of violence, sexual abuse, or legal
They also need to empower the patients to make informed health decisions and there must be a The homeless face nearly insurmountable barriers to healthcare access: insolvency, lack of insurance, lack of transportation, poor orientation to appointment-keeping, and competing priorities for shelter, food, and safety that outweigh the motivation to seek medical care. O’Connell, Baggett, Fletcher, & Schwenk, (2014) state, “The simple presence of a homeless person at a clinic visit represents an extraordinary accomplishment; follow through (eg, obtaining and taking prescribed medications, attention to wound care and other physical advice, completing referrals and return visits) is exceptional and will not often occur if left to chance and the meager resources of the patient.” The largest barrier may be to practitioner compliance with the screening process. Practitioners may state that the PHQ-9 is too time consuming or too complicated to both administer and to score. These two “excuses” for non-compliance can easily be eliminated with proper training. Since the PHQ-9 is only nine questions, compliance by the practitioners should not present a burden but be a tool in holistic patient