Using Video-Based Training Materials to Improve Depression Care

Depression is a public health problem of major significance and the most common cause of disability in North America. Studies indicate that care for depression is not optimal in either primary care or mental health settings. One impediment to improving care has been a lack of effective resources in teaching health professionals to assess and treat depression. This poster will describe an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration to develop case-based training resources that can be used in a variety of educational and training contexts to improve assessment and treatment of depression in individuals across the lifespan. Two interdisciplinary work groups created video-based cases and accompanying training materials that focus on assessment and treatment of culturally diverse individuals who experience depression. These include a school-aged boy whose grandparent has recently died; a teen-aged girl whose school performance is deteriorating; an unemployed middle-aged woman with persistent depression; and a socially and geographically isolated older male. After pilot-testing, the videos and other training materials will be disseminated online for use by other training programs. Poster will describe the competencies being targeted by the training materials; discuss cultural and lifespan issues illustrated in the cases; and provide examples of how assessment and treatment issues are addressed in case vignettes.