Incidental findings: A practical protocol for reporting elevated depressive symptoms in behavioral health research

Intervention studies conducted in caregivers often focus on improving mental health. Consequently, researchers may discover incidental findings like elevated depressive symptoms. Researchers have an ethical obligation to report incidental findings to participants, but no protocols exist for reporting behavioral health symptoms. The purpose of this paper was to describe a protocol for reporting elevated depressive symptoms to participants, based on the protocol used in a national randomized clinical trial of stress-reduction methods for 348 grandmothers raising grandchildren. Each questionnaire included the CES-D scale, and was scored immediately after completion. We established a cut-off score of 30 based on previous research. A registered nurse on the research team called participants with scores over 30 and ascertained whether the participant 1) was aware of the problem and 2) had sought help, and then offered additional resources. Overall, 94 (27%) participants had a CES-D score > 30. The majority (91%) were aware of the problem. About a third of the participants were on medication for their symptoms, and a third were seeing a therapist. Nine participants were not aware they had depressive symptoms. This paper outlines the ethical premise for developing our protocol, details of protocol development, and discussion for how research teams can apply this protocol to their work.