VA/DoD Depression Clinical Practice Guideline Adherence

Depression is a leading cause of disability (Chong, Aslani, and Chen, 2011). The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends routine depression screenings to assist in the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of depression (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force,2016). Treatment follow-up is also imperative to increase patient quality of life, reduce morbidity, and decrease economic burden (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2016). The military population is a high-risk population due to frequent exposure to combat and a multitude of occupational stressors. Some military-specific occupational stressors are combat, dangerous conditions, sudden environment changes, intense training demands, lack of autonomy, long duty hours, and extended periods of separation from family.