title: Postcard intervention for depression in community-dwelling older adults: A randomised controlled trial.
abstract: Depression in older adults erodes their health, quality of life and the economy. Existing interventions are not feasible for broad application at the community. Postcard intervention only requires a few resources, and previous studies have shown its effectiveness for patients following drug overdose, self-harm and hospitalisation for major depression. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a postcard intervention. Participants were community-dwelling individuals, aged 65 or older, who eat meals alone and with the score of 4 or higher on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). We enrolled 184 eligible participants, with 93 in the intervention and 91 in the control arm. Postcards were sent to participants once a month for eight months. Primary outcome was the GDS-15 score at post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were quality of life and activities of daily living. There was no significant difference in primary and secondary outcomes between completers of the intervention and the control arm. However, most of the participants who received intervention thought the intervention was effective. The postcard intervention for depression in community-dwelling elderly people in Japan is neither feasible nor effective. However, the descriptive results suggest that the intervention may be effective given different parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Field Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida Simoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan; Departments of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Japan. Electronic address: ihits@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hissei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.affiliation: Departments of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiaki A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyohito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumiya
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Taizo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fukutomi
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan; Hakubi Center, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishimoto
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Field Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida Simoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Wen-ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Field Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida Simoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Mire
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsubayashi
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011177:Postal Service / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Community; Depression; Non-clinical intervention; Older adults; Prevention