Abstract
BackgroundMost people who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression in China do not receive treatment. Family and friends can play a role in recognising the signs of depression and encouraging the person to seek treatment. However, many of them may lack the knowledge and skills to offer such help. The aim of this study was to culturally adapt the existing English-language mental health first aid (MHFA) guidelines for helping a person with depression to the Chinese context.MethodsA Delphi expert consensus study was conducted, in which two Chinese expert panels of mental health professionals (with experience in the field of clinical management of depression, n = 37) and consumers and carers (with lived experience, n = 30) rated the importance of actions that could be taken to help a person experiencing depression in mainland China.ResultsData were collected over 3 survey rounds. In the 1st round questionnaire, 175 statements translated into Chinese from the English-language guidelines were presented to the expert panels and 12 new statements were generated from panellists’ comments. Of these 187 statements, 173 were endorsed for inclusion in the adapted guidelines for China.ConclusionsAlthough the adapted guidelines were still quite similar to the guidelines for English-speaking countries, they also incorporated some new actions for the Chinese context, including those relating to different ways of respecting the autonomy of a person with depression and the role of their families. Further research is needed to explore the use of these guidelines by the Chinese public, including how they may be incorporated in Mental Health First Aid training.
Highlights
Most people who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression in China do not receive treatment
A 7year longitudinal study conducted among people aged 45 and older in 28 provinces of mainland China found that only less than 5% of those with depressive symptoms were aware of their condition and less than 2% sought professional help over the years [9], suggesting that depression remains poorly managed despite efforts by the Chinese government to improve this in recent decades [3, 10, 11]
Experts from China proposed two new statements of ‘The first aider should not push the person too much to talk about their feelings and experiences’, ‘If the person is not willing to seek professional help, the first aider can leave information about this with them’, and both of these statements were highly endorsed in the subsequent round
Summary
Most people who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression in China do not receive treatment. The latest Chinese National Mental Health Survey reported the 12-month prevalence of depressive disorders among adults to be 3.6%, which may represent an increase and is likely to be due to rapid economic and social changes that have occurred in recent decades in China [3, 4]. A 7year longitudinal study conducted among people aged 45 and older in 28 provinces of mainland China found that only less than 5% of those with depressive symptoms were aware of their condition and less than 2% sought professional help over the years [9], suggesting that depression remains poorly managed despite efforts by the Chinese government to improve this in recent decades [3, 10, 11]
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