Screening depression and anxiety in Indigenous peoples: A global scoping review

Abstract

Indigenous peoples’ worldviews are intricately interconnected and interrelated with their communities and the environments in which they live. Their worldviews also manifest in a holistic view of health and well-being, which contrasts with those of the dominant western biomedical model. However, screening depression and/or anxiety in Indigenous peoples often occurs using standard western tools. Understandably, the cultural appropriateness of these tools has been questioned. The purpose of this scoping review was to map the literature that used any type of tool to screen depression or anxiety in Indigenous adults globally. A systematic scoping review method was used to search databases including, but not limited to, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Google. Database-specific search terms associated with Indigenous peoples, depression and anxiety, and screening tools were used to identify literature. In addition, citation searches of related systematic reviews and relevant websites were conducted. The data set was limited to English language publications since database inception. Fifty-four publications met the review's inclusion criteria. Most studies were completed in community settings using standard western depression and anxiety screening tools. Thirty-three different tools were identified, with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 being the most frequently used. The review's findings are concerning given repeated calls for culturally appropriate screening tools to be used with Indigenous peoples. Although there has been some work to cross-culturally adapt depression screening tools for specific Indigenous populations, clearly more clinicians and researchers need to be aware of, and use, culturally appropriate approaches to screening.