Depression outcomes in adults attending family practice were not improved by screening, stepped-care, or online CBT during a 12-week study when compared to controls in a randomized trial.
Silverstone, P., Rittenbach, K., Suen, V., Moretzsohn, A., Cribben, I., Bercov, M., ... Trew, M.
There is uncertainty regarding possible benefits of screening for depression in family practice, as well as the most effective treatment approach when depression is identified. Here, we examined whether screening patients for depression in primary care, and then treating them with different modalities, was better than treatment-as-usual (TAU) alone. In conclusion, these findings from this controlled randomized study do not suggest that using depression screening tools in family practice improves outcomes. They also suggest that much of the depression seen in primary care spontaneously resolves and do not support suggestions that more complex treatment programs or pathways improve depression outcomes in primary care. Replication studies are required due to study limitations.