Improving Services for Women with Depression in Primary Care Settings

Abstract

Women have a higher prevalence of depressive disorders compared to men. The current system of care for women with depressive disorders provides significant financial barriers for patients with lower incomes to access mental health services. Primary care systems are used extensively by women and have the potential to diagnose patients at early stages of mental illness and to provide evidence-based treatments, but this potential is largely unfulfilled because of significant system-level barriers inherent in primary care. Recent effectiveness research provides an excellent framework for cost-effectively improving care of depression using stepped care principles and strategies effective for improving care of other chronic conditions. Psychologists have the potential to help implement stepped care models by providing training, consultation and ongoing quality assurance, as well as by delivering collaborative care models of acute-phase treatment and relapse prevention interventions.