As a second-year nursing student at San Francisco State University, I had several questions after reading the October 2007 How to Try This article on the Geriatric Depression Scale: Short Form (GDS: SF).

1. When you are administering the GDS: SF, is the patient aware that she or he is being screened for depression?

2. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR), is used to diagnose depression. Who makes this diagnosis?

3. There are many Filipinos living in the Bay area. Is the GDS: SF available in Tagalog?

Andrea Bolts

San Francisco

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