Aragones 2007.
| Methods | Study design: Cluster‐randomised controlled trial |
| Participants | Setting: Primary care Inclusion criteria: Patients who have suffered from an episode of major depression (DSM‐IV) and who have been advised to take a new course of antidepressants. Those assigned to the doctor, aged ≥ 18 years, able to be contacted by telephone, who have been diagnosed with an episode of major depression (DSM‐IV), have a score of > 14 on the PHQ‐9 (moderate‐severe depression) or a score of 10 to 14 (mild depression) that has persisted for more than one month, and who have not received antidepressant medication in the previous three months. Exclusion criteria: Those who suffer from physical, psychiatric or linguistic limitations or a concurrent illness that impede comprehension/participation in the study evaluations, patients with psychotic or bipolar disorders, patients with alcohol or drug dependence and patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding Age: Aged ≥ 18 years Gender: Unclear Country: Spain Sample size: 20 primary care centres, 400 patients |
| Interventions | Intervention: An enhanced programme for depression management. A multi‐component programme with clinical, educational and organisational procedures that includes training for the health care provider and evidence‐based clinical guidelines. It also includes primary care nurses working as care‐managers who provide educational and emotional support for the patients and who are responsible for active and systematic clinical monitoring. The programme aims to improve the primary care/specialised level interface. Control: The doctors in the centres that continue with standard treatment use their own criteria to attend depressed patients and are allowed to use any resources they consider appropriate, including referral to the specialised level. The doctors in the control group are given a training session on diagnosing and detecting depression with the same content as that of the doctors in the intervention group |
| Outcomes | Response and remission rates and depression severity (PHQ‐9) |
| Notes | Study complete but publication of results too late for inclusion in review at this stage; DSM‐IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fourth edition; PHQ‐9: Patient Health Questionnaire |