Browsing by Author "Corander, Carla"

Aims: Major depression is associated with substantial individual and societal burden due to its high prevalence. Current treatments are estimated to only reduce about one-third of the economic burden of depressive disorders. Depression prevention could be an alternative means to alleviate this disease burden. However, current face-to-face prevention programs have several limitations including limited health care resources and mental health stigma. Internet and mobile based (IM) preventions could potentially overcome the limitations of face-to face prevention programs. The aim of this review is to introduce different types of IM-preventions of depression and to evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these prevention programs. Methods: A literature search was conducted on pubmed database and google scholar using search terms “depression prevention” and “internet and mobile based” with terms “cost-effectiveness” and “adherence”. Results and conclusions: The results of this review indicate that major depression could be prevented with IM-preventions. The length of an effective treatment is most likely 5-8 weeks and it usually includes human support while less effective treatment is most likely self-help based. The importance of human support can be attributed to the adherence to the treatment and enhancing adherence is particularly important in populations with more severe symptoms. Indicative, selective and universal preventions are equally effective. It is not possible to compare different approaches since nearly all preventions utilise cognitive-behavioural techniques and are internet-based. Studies that examine the cost-effectiveness of depression prevention are far and between, but according to one study internet and mobile based prevention of depression could be a cost-effective alternative to the primary healthcare services. The available evidence suggests that it would be fruitful to try internet and mobile based depression prevention in a context of a workplace or a school but there is inadequate evidence for national prevention programs.