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Improving treatment access and primary care referrals for depression in a national community-based outreach program for the elderly
- Authors:
- NYUNT Ma Shwe Zin, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(11), November 2009, pp.1267-1276.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper describes a nationwide community-based outreach service model, the Community-Based Early Psychiatric Intervention Strategy (CEPIS) programme, aimed at improving access and acceptance of treatment for depression among the elderly population in Singapore. In the CEPIS, community nurses routinely screened older people for depressive symptoms, and provided psychoeducation (giving information about depression and its causes and treatment and availability of care by a general practitioner, and addressing commonly held negative beliefs and attitudes) and referral for primary care treatment. The authors evaluated the impact of the programme and the extent to which determinants of treatment-seeking were altered by removing socioeconomic, physical and cognitive barriers to care. Their conclusions were that an outreach service model of routine and active screening for depressive symptoms in a community setting of providing social services for the elderly population greatly increased the use of primary care treatment for depression, and that by eliminating socioeconomic, physical, knowledge, belief and attitudinal barriers, equitable care to all in need is attainable through such a service.