Screening for depression in South Asian patients with end stage Renal Disease

Depression is common amongst patients affected by kidney failure. In particular, the hemodialysis (HD) treatment regime encompasses a number of stressors and challenges for patients. In this research, we are interested in exploring how best to identify depressive mood in patients from South Asian backgrounds, recognising that there are often language and cultural barriers to symptom disclosure. We will translate three depression screening questioannires into dominant South Asian languages. The questionnaires will then be completed by a sizeable sample of South Asian HD patients, and a subset followed-up with a clinical interview. Planned analyses will help the researchers explore how accurately the translated scales identify significant depressive mood amongst patients from South Asian sub- groups.