Preliminary experience with the SELFCARE (D): A self‐rating depression questionnaire for use in elderly, non‐institutionalized subjects

A new self‐rating depression scale for use with elderly subjects in general practice—the SELFCARE (D)—was compared with independent psychiatric assessment in 75 patients attending general practitioners at two London practices. The sensitivity was 77%, specificity 98% and positive predictive value 96%; kappa was 0·77. This preliminary experience suggests that the SELFCARE (D) is an acceptable and economic tool for the study of depression in elderly patients in a primary care setting.