title: Public awareness about depression: the effectiveness of a patient guideline.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of a patient guideline for educating the public in the recognition and treatment of depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lay subjects were interviewed regarding their knowledge and beliefs about depression through the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. They were asked to "think aloud" while evaluating two clinical scenarios about depression, both with and without the use of a patient guideline. All interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed for subjects' thought processes and accuracy of responses in the presence and absence of the guideline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with no prior history of depression identified fewer symptoms of depression listed in the patient guideline than did subjects with a history of depression. In the absence of the guideline, only 50% and 38% of subjects provided accurate diagnosis of depression for the simple and complex problems respectively. In the presence of the guideline, 92% and 83% of subjects provided an accurate diagnosis of depression for the simple and complex problems respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lay people have a limited knowledge of depression and its treatment, and are less able to recognize symptoms of depression without the help of patient guideline. The guideline primes lay people to better recognize these symptoms and their relationship to diagnosis. This level of understanding about depression by lay people will facilitate improved communication between physicians and their patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. patel@dbmi.columbia.edu
authors.forename: Vimla L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Branch
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mottur-Pilson
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pinard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D011340:Problem Solving; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires