Centre for Policy on Ageing



The management of depression in older people in primary care — a survey of general practitioners
Author(s)	M Orrell, P Scurfield, L Cloke
Journal title	Aging & Mental Health, vol 4, no 4, November 2000
Pages	pp 305-308
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Depression ; Medical care ; General practice ; General practitioners ; Social surveys.
Annotation	Depression is common in older people, but in primary care it is frequently under-detected and usually untreated. This study used a questionnaire survey of general practitioners (GPs) in 12 areas of England and Wales to investigate their views on the detection and management of depression, and also conducted a local assessment of service characteristics. Most GPs recognised the importance of making an early diagnosis of depression, but 30% of them were unclear whether they needed further training. Only half of the GPs were satisfied with the local specialist services for depression. Services that used the care programme approach or key worker systems, and those that had made efforts to contact and educate GPs were seen as better quality. Providers of specialist services should ensure that they consider the needs of primary care. National and local initiatives to educate and support GPs in identifying and managing depression should be a high priority. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-001214205 A
Classmark	ENR: LK: L5: QT6: 3F
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.