Purpose & Background: This project evaluates the impact of education on a provider’s intent to screen for vitamin D deficiency in adults with depression. An internal Quality Improvement (QI) study at a local mental health primary care clinic revealed that only 1 in 3 patients with depression were routinely screened for vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is a crucial component of numerous systemic functions, including mental health, specifically depression. Methods: This QI project used the Rosswurm and Larrabee Model implementation framework. Institution Review Board (IRB) expedited review approval was received. This project was conducted at 10 Veteran’s Affairs (VA) primary care clinics in Arizona. An initial email with a recruitment flyer was sent to providers to launch the project. A second email was sent to participants who volunteered to participate in the project, with instructions and links to the asynchronous pre-survey, recorded education PowerPoint, and post-survey. Responses were analyzed using Intellectus Statistics software. Results: Provider knowledge of impact and intent to screen for vitamin D deficiency increased after viewing a brief education video (n=30). Frequency distribution analyses revealed a 23% average increase in agreement to screen for vitamin D deficiency at annual visits, “at-risk” individuals, knowledge of the association, and intent to screen regularly in depression. Conclusion: The education intervention was found to positively impact the provider’s intent and demonstrate the importance of screening for vitamin D deficiency in adults with depression.

People with dementia (PwD) along with their caregivers currently face challenges in the disease process because there is a major gap in available treatment and therapies, especially those that are non-pharmacological. The literature shows an increased incidence of dementia, and currently, there is no cure. This leaves medication as the treatment of choice. The aim of this project was to investigate whether introducing robotic pets as a supplemental therapy to persons with mild to moderate dementia helps in reducing their level of anxiety and agitation. Based on a review of the literature on the benefits of robotic pet interactions with dementia-suffering individuals, a quality improvement project was conducted in a suburban city in Arizona. Project participants included individuals with dementia and their caregivers. They were asked to interact with the robotic pet in their home for four, one-hour sessions, over a four-week timeframe. Analysis of the findings revealed that individuals with dementia found a sense of joy and peace while interacting with the pets, and they looked forward to the pet visit every week with excitement. These results indicated that introducing robotic pets to dementia-suffering individuals was clinically significant as it relates to their anxiety and agitation levels. Utilizing robotic pets as a supplemental therapy can benefit dementia-suffering individuals and their caregivers. Further evaluation is needed with a larger sample size to better understand the impact of robotic pets on PwD.