Improving the Management and Knowledge of Depression: Marking “Defeat Depression Action Week” for the Defeat Depression Campaign

This article describes the Defeat Depression Campaign which has been organized in the UK by the Royal College of Psychiatrists & the Royal College of General Practitioners. Resource materials that have been developed for practitioners & the public are reviewed. The goal of the campaign is to increase the expertise of general practitioners in the recognition & treatment of depression. A similar program on the Swedish island of Gotland saw a short-term reduction in the number of suicides.