Depression in the workplace. Impact on employees

Given the current high incidence of depression, occupational health nurses in all work settings are likely to encounter many employees who suffer from some form of depression. Depression has the highest medical benefit costs for all behavioral conditions and results in more days of disability than chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and lower back pain. Advances in understanding the physiologic changes in the brain which cause depression have lead to development of effective psychopharmacologic agents for treatment. Depressed individuals have the most positive responses with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. Nurses need to assist affected employees to obtain optimal mental health care so they may remain as functional as possible, thereby diminishing the detrimental effects of the illness.