Assessment of Level of Depression in Patient with Osteoarthritis at Handicap Center in Al-Nasiriyah City.

Objectives: Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability. This study aimed to assess level of depression in patients with osteoarthritis. A descriptive study design was conducted at handicap center in Al-Nasiriyah city for period from 29^th November 2016 to 1^st march 2017. A purposive (non-probability) sample of 50 patients were included. Data were collected through the use of the constructed questionnaire and the process of the self-administrative report. The questionnaire consists of 2 parts: part 1 includes Patients socio demographic characteristics includes (age, gender, educational level, monthly income, and duration of diagnosis). Part 2: consist of: Beak Scale for depression. Content validity of the instrument was determined through the use of panel of experts and the internal consistency of the instrument was determined through the pilot study and the computation of Alpha Correlation Coefficient (r = 0.870). Data were analyzed through the application of descriptive and inferential statistical approaches by using Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS) version 20.0. The findings of the study revealed that most of study sample (46%) have sever and very severe depression. The assessment of level of depression among patients with osteoarthritis require more and more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]