Identifying and Managing Preparatory Grief ad Depression at the End of Life -- American Family Physician

MARCH 1, 2002 / VOLUME 65, NUMBER 5 www.aafp.org/afp AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN 883 physiologic changes associated with dying. Survey instruments designed to detect depression have not been well studied in patients who are dying and lack specificity because questions addressing somatic, functional and affective criteria can generate false-positive results. The Geriatric Depression Scale, for example, rates frequent crying. Crying can reflect depression or normal grief in dying patients. Differentiating between preparatory grief and depression is essential because of therapeutic implications. While some researchers have suggested that grief and depression differ in significant ways, evidence supporting such distinctions is lacking.