title: [An educational programme for coping with depression: a randomized controlled trial].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression is a serious health problem, with lifetime prevalence in the western world of 20-30%. Only a relatively small proportion of depressed people receive treatment; hence there is a great need for further development of feasible treatment programmes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A psycho-educative group-based treatment programme was tested in a randomized controlled study of unipolar depression. The size of the intervention group was 81 as against 74 in the control group. The programme lasted 8 weeks with weekly sessions of 2(1/2) hours and booster sessions after 1, 2 and 4 months. Each group had 8 to 10 participants; psychiatric nurses acted as facilitators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of improvement after 6 months was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. In the intervention group, 69% of participants showed significant improvement (reduction in the Beck Depression Inventory score of 6 points or more), compared to 37% in the control group. Improvement in the intervention group mainly took place during the first 8 weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The treatment programme turned out to have a significant effect on unipolar depression and seems feasible in primary health care as well as in specialized psychiatric care.
authors.affiliation: Nasjonalt folkehelseinstitutt, Postboks 4404 Nydalen, 0403 Oslo. odd.steffen.dalgard@fhi.no
authors.forename: Odd Steffen
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Dalgard
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D018579:Patient Selection; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome