Description

Depression is a common disorder in the elderly,
particularly in those with disablement,and has severe
and enduring effects. However, fewer than two in ten
of the depressed elderly appear to receive any active
treatment. Good quality relevant research-based
evidence of the effectiveness of sustainable and
generalisable interventions by health and social
services is needed if this problem is to be addressed.
There is some evidence of the effectiveness of secondary
care led intervention for depression in this group. Now
that we have evidence that these disorders may not be
untreatable, there is a need to evelop and test the
effectiveness of primary care intervention, and to
produce management packages that integrate social
service and health service responses. In this paper some
of the methodological issues in the interpretation of the
research base in this area are considered along with
how it might best be augmented.