Acute Medicine | Palliative care | Assessment of mood

Assessment of mood
Session overview
Description
This session provides a framework for the assessment of mood as an essential first step to appropriate management of depression.

This session was reviewed eviewed by Dr Felicity Wood and Sarah Hanrott and last updated in May 2023.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• explain why it is important to assess mood in end-of-life care patients
• list some of the barriers to recognising and treating depressive symptoms
• outline the core steps involved in assessing the mood of end-of-life care patients
• list the uses and limitations of standardised assessment tools used in clinical practice and research to assess mood in end-of-life care patients
• differentiate between screening for and diagnosis of depression
• identify some of the factors affecting mood

The experience of facing a life threatening illness can have a negative psychological impact on both the individual and their family/carers.

Emotional reactions such as sadness may be appropriate and not unexpected. However, persistent and more severe mood abnormalities can result in poorer quality of life, reduced physical and social functioning and a worsening of physical symptom control.

If low mood is identified, an accurate assessment of depressive symptoms is essential so that interventions such as increased psychological support, psychological therapy and antidepressant treatment can be offered appropriately.

This session provides a framework for the assessment of mood as an essential first step to appropriate management of depression.