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Early Detection of Depression

  • Chapter
Preventing Disease

Part of the book series: Frontiers of Primary Care ((PRIMARY))

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Abstract

Depression continues to be a common problem in the community and in the physician’s office. Early detection or screening for depression continues to generate interest, as reflected by the publications describing development of test instruments and the results of studies of screening for depression both in the community and in physician’s offices.1–14 Current controversies concerning the early detection or screening for depression are detailed in excellent articles by Kamerow15 and by Campbell.16

Depression, stands high among the ranks of common human debilities. If we could recognize the problem in its earliest phases or identify asymptomatic individuals at risk, and if effective treatment were to be applied early, the potential savings would be enormous by any measure. But these are large ifs, since it turns out that the screening processes themselves leave much to be desired. Here, then, is another fertile field for research, and the authors define the precise questions that require answers.

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Authors
  1. John Feightner
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  2. Graham Worrall
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children, Dalhousie University, B3J 3G9, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Richard B. Goldbloom M.D. (Professor of Pediatrics) (Professor of Pediatrics)

  2. The Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 02139, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Robert S. Lawrence M.D. (Charles S. Davidson Associate Professor of Medicine, Chief of Medicine) (Charles S. Davidson Associate Professor of Medicine, Chief of Medicine)

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Feightner, J., Worrall, G. (1990). Early Detection of Depression. In: Goldbloom, R.B., Lawrence, R.S. (eds) Preventing Disease. Frontiers of Primary Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3280-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3280-3_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7948-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3280-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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