Screening, prevention, and management of patients with poststroke depression in a tertiary hospital in China: a best practice implementation project

Poststroke depression (PSD) is common but insufficiently addressed by health professionals, and management is not always evidence-based.To improve adherence to evidence-based practice for screening, prevention, and management of patients with PSD in the neurology ward of The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (China).The current evidence implementation project was based on the JBI methodological approach and included three phases from January to June 2021: a baseline audit, implementation of strategies, and a follow-up audit. We utilized the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System software and the Getting Research into Practice tools. Fourteen nurses, 162 stroke patients and their caregivers participated in this study.The results of the baseline audit showed that compliance with evidence-based practice was poor, with 3/6 criteria showing 0% adherence and the other three audit criteria showing 5.7, 10.3, and 49.4% adherence, respectively. Through feedback to nurses regarding the baseline audit results, the project team identified five barriers and adopted a battery of strategies to overcome these barriers. The follow-up audit revealed significantly enhanced outcomes across all the best practice criteria, and the compliance of each criterion reached at least 80%.The implementation program designed to screen, prevent, and manage PSD in a tertiary hospital in China improved nurses' knowledge and compliance with evidence-based management of PSD. Further testing of this program in more hospitals is needed.