Delivering stepped care for depression in general practice: Results of a survey amongst general practitioners in the Netherlands

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Background: Revised guidelines for depression recommend a stepped care approach. Little is known about the implementation of the stepped care model by general practitioners (GPs) in daily practice. Objectives: To evaluate the performance of Dutch GPs in their general practice regarding important elements of the stepped care model (identification, severity assessment and stepped care treatment allocation) shortly before the revised Dutch multidisciplinary guideline for Depressive Disorders was published. Methods: Data was collected through a self-report questionnaire sent to 500 randomly selected GPs. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate whether GP-related characteristics were associated with GPs' self-reported performance. Results: The study involved 194 GPs (response rate: 39%). Responses indicated that 37% paid systematic attention to depression identification, 33% used a screening instrument, and 63% determined the severity of newly diagnosed depression, generally without using an instrument. Most GPs (72%) indicated to allocate stepped care treatment to the majority of their patients newly diagnosed with depression. However, more than 40% indicated to start with antidepressants, either alone or in combination with psychotherapy. Assessing the severity of newly diagnosed depression and clinical experience were positively associated with allocating stepped care treatment. Structural collaboration with mental health professionals was positively associated with assessing severity. Conclusion: Delivering stepped care for depression in daily general practice could be further improved. Collaboration with mental health professionals and routine severity assessment of diagnosed depression are positively associated with allocating stepped care.