Full Description
In the early 1990s, as medical costs skyrocketed and health issues inspired heated national debate, preventive health care received increased attention and emphasis. In the area of mental health, however, the subject of effective prevention remained controversial and generally neglected. The National Institutes of Mental Health and the Institute of Medicine conducted systematic reviews of the state of prevention science in the mental health field. Originally published in 1993 contributing to this growing attention and offering the most comprehensive summary to date of this new area of study, The Prevention of Depression presents and evaluates the current research on efforts to prevent what many still considered to be the "inevitable suffering" that is associated with depressive disorders. Ricardo Munoz and Yu-Wen Ying bring together the latest information about depression and review methods of evaluating medical and psychological intervention at the time. Chapters are organized in five sections: an introduction to key concepts; an explanation of the steps to be followed in conducting research on preventive interventions; a report on the authors' work with the San Francisco Depression Prevention Research Project; discussion of the implications of such research and the goals of the prevention field; and general comments and recommendations directed to mental health professionals. The authors conclude with a call for well-designed prevention programmes to reduce the human suffering associated with depression. Today it can be read in its historical context.
Contents
Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part I: Key Concepts in the Prevention of Depression 1. The Prevention of Mental Disorders 2. Depression: A Key Target for Prevention 3. Research on Preventive Interventions Part II: Steps in Research on Preventive Interventions 4. Identifying the Target: What Do You Intend to Prevent? 5. Choosing a Theory to Guide to Intervention: What Mechanisms Are Involved? 6. Identifying High-Risk Groups: For Whom Is the Intervention Appropriate? 7. Designing the Intervention: How Do You Propose to Prevent the Target Condition? 8. Designing the Study: How Will You Measure the Effects of the Intervention? Part III: The San Francisco Depression Prevention Research Project 9. Overview of the Depression Prevention Research Project 10. Methods 11. Characteristics of the Samples at Initial Screenings 12. The Effects of Preventive Intervention on Depression 13. The Effects of Preventive Intervention on Psychological Well-being 14. The Effects of Preventive Intervention on the Use of Medical Services Jeanne Miranda and Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable 15. The Mediating Effects of Change in Cognitions and Behaviors on Depression and Psychological Well-being 16. The Mediating Effects of Change in Life Events on Depression and Psychological Well-being 17. Measurement Issues 18. Implementation Issues Part IV: The Implications of Research on Preventive Interventions 19. Screening and Outreach 20. The Prevention of Depression in Primary Health Care Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable and Jeanne Miranda 21. Ethical Issues 22. Measuring Cost 23. Future Steps toward the Prevention of Depression Part V: Personal Reflections on the Preventive Intervention Enterprise 24. Philosophical Issues 25. Recommendations. Appendix A: Excerpts from the Depression Prevention Course. Appendix B: Measures Used in the Depression Prevention Research Project. References. Index.
