Depression prevention in primary care is not worthwhile
Olde Hartman, T.C.; Lucassen, P.L.B.J.
Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde 160: D639
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-2162 PMID: 27531250 Document Number: 689988
An increasing number of prevention programmes are being introduced in primary and secondary care. Patients seldom doubt the usefulness of these programmes, but doctors more frequently do. Primary care programmes for prevention of depression require a high level of effort, but are not very effective: the incidence of new depressive episodes is relatively low, and there is a high percentage of drop-outs from intervention programmes. We need to look critically at the ever increasing expansion of screening and prevention activities in the general practitioner's (GP's) practice, because the fuller the GP's agenda the less time there is for the patient's personal story.