Title of Journal

Article: Depression in Children and Adolescents

Title of Journal

American Family Physician

Volume 62/No. 10    Date 11/15/2000    Page Number(s) 2297-2308, 2311-2

·         What organization is responsible for publishing the journal you chose?

The American Academy of Family Physicians

·         What is your overall evaluation of this article?

_____Poor          ______Fair            ______Good             X    Very Good       _____Excellent

·         Why did you choose to review this particular article?

This is an assigned article through ALHE 5500

·         How would you rate this article as a tool for teaching a student about cardiopulmonary physiology, radiography, or another allied health specialty? 

Students:               ____Poor       ____Fair        X      Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

Teachers:               ____Poor       ____Fair       _____Good      X      Very Good      _____Excellent

Patients:                 ____Poor       X     Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

·         Comment on the readability of this article. 

I found the article very interesting and easy to read and absorb the information. With a weak pharmacology background, I found myself going back and doing a little research to become familiar with the terminology again. This aspect of reading the article made it educating in itself along with learning new information on depression in the two groups.

Unless the patient has some higher education, it might be difficult for some to understand the pharmacological aspects of the article. However, I do believe the chart on clinical presentations of depression in children and adolescence would be a very good tool for parents use to help determine if they need to speak to their child’s pediatrician about any behavioral problems that exist.

·         Course Topics covered:

Epidemiology, Clinical Presentations, Diagnosis, Treatment and the need for referrals.

·         Brief Summary:

The article was written with family physicians and pediatricians in mind. The goal is help these professionals recognize the signs and symptoms of these illnesses and give them a tool to use in decision making concerning referral to other specialists.

The article also made it very clear that physicians need to rule out any underlying medical problems and recognize existing comorbidities.

·         Identify and attempt to explain three (3) terms, procedures or concepts that were unfamiliar to you when reviewing this article.

Dysthemic disorder: This is a term I had never heard before. The article briefly described it in the clinical presentation chart but did not give a real definition. I was surprised to find that this term was not in the dictionary. However, I did find a very good description at  http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-md04.html 

I was surprised to see that 1 percent of preschoolers suffered from some type of depression. Even with family conflict, one would be inclined to believe that these children are too young mentally and emotionally to experience such a disorder.

Before reading this article I considered comorbidities in terms of physical illness combined with a depressive disorder. I never knew that a person (of any age) could have multiple depressive disorders presenting at the time. This obviously makes diagnosis and treatment very difficult.

·         Detail the strengths/weaknesses of this article.

The greatest strength of this article was the systematic and chronological flow of the information. It was well organized, addressed the issue fully and allowed to reader to obtain the information in such a way that it can be retained and used.

I found no real weakness in this article. The only one might be the in depth pharmacology. In saying that, the article was written for physicians and health care professionals, not the general public.

·         How might this article be useful to you in your further studies and career?

I work in a dental office that is a family practice. We treat a great deal of children and adolescents. Some I found to be very unsociable or what seemed to me to be too quiet. I will look at these children and their families a little now and will adjust my style of treatment for them in the future.

·         Does the article include a list of references/citations that can be used to find more information on the topics they cover?  YES

Your Name:   Sherry L. Mayne                  Date:    02/02/2008