Related Experiment Videos
The undertreatment of depression
1Department of Psychiatry, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
|January 1, 1992
Summary
Many patients with depression do not receive adequate treatment, indicating gaps in routine care. Older men with depression were less likely to have unmet needs for treatment.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Major depression treatment has advanced in clinical trials, but population-level impact remains unclear.
- Systematic assessment of care needs in depressed populations is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the deployment of effective treatments in a population with depressive disorders.
- To identify unmet treatment needs in patients not fully recovered.
Main Methods:
- 130 patients with depressive disorders were interviewed at initial contact.
- 119 patients were reassessed after a 4-month interval.
- Unmet need was determined by the availability of alternative physical or psychosocial treatments.
Main Results:
- 50% of patients achieved a good recovery.
- 78% of non-recovered patients had unmet treatment needs.
- Older male patients showed a lower likelihood of unmet needs.
Conclusions:
- Routine clinical management of depression may be less effective than expected.
- Systematic needs assessment is crucial to understand the gap between ideal and routine care for depression.