National screening targets depression
National screening targets depression
The administrative director for the 1996 Beach Cities National Depression Screening Day was a high energy person with a job at a major company that required her to travel all over the world. Then she became depressed after a serious injury that left her with chronic pain.
"I had been extremely active and happy, and I got depressed and could not get out of bed. If I did, I would get up at 9 a.m. and by 10:15 a.m. was back in bed. I would get up again in a couple of hours, and 45 minutes later, I would be back lying down," says Carol Risa, MA.
Her experience with depression made her aware of the importance of helping people identify their problem and find treatment. Although depression is very treatable, many people believe their situation is hopeless, says Risa. That is why she helped organize the depression screening for three southern California beach cities. The screening was held on National Depression Screening Day at South Bay Medical Center in Rodondo Beach, although residents in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach also were targeted.
National Depression Screening Day, held each year in October during Mental Illness Awareness Week, is designed to educate people about the signs, symptoms, and treatments of depression and connect those in need with the mental health system. Volunteers emphasize that depression is a common medical illness, and there are effective treatments available. It is characterized by feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, changes in sleep and appetite, loss of energy, and thoughts of death and suicide.
Each screening site is required to have information tables with educational materials on depression, a video that can run on a continual basis, and a professional who gives scheduled educational lectures. Clinicians also are on hand to review the written screening test with participants who suspect that they suffer from depression and provide a referral to an appropriate health care professional. The screenings are conducted anonymously, and no diagnoses or specific treatment recommendations are given.
Participating health facilities must provide qualified mental health professionals to conduct the education and screening components and are responsible for local publicity. (For more information, see editor’s note, at the end of article.)
Anyone who participates in the screening should make sure their site is listed on the national 800 number, advises Kevin Henry, community relations associate for BHC Sierra Vista Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Sacramento, CA. In 1996, the national toll-free number was listed in one of Ann Landers’ nationally syndicated columns. "That column is very well read, and a number of people found us because of that column," he says. When callers dial the toll-free number, they enter their zip code to obtain the telephone numbers of local sites.
Promoting the screening can be difficult because many people who suffer from depression tend to isolate themselves, says Risa. She used an evaluation form to determine which marketing method had attracted screening participants. According to the survey, an announcement in the calendar of events published in the local newspaper worked best. The Ann Landers’ column and fliers in physicians’ offices also worked well.
At American River College in Sacramento, CA, the screening site was placed in a high-traffic area next to the cafeteria. The visible site helped capture people who had not read the notice in the student and staff bulletins or the student and local newspapers. The goal was to reach as many people on campus as possible. "We felt the educational component was extremely important. A lot of our time in the health center is spent on mental health issues," explains Kay Kane, RN, MS, public health nurse at American River College.
[Editor’s note: Those interested in organizing a site for the seventh annual National Depression Screening Day on October 9 must submit a registration form, along with a $110 fee. Each registered facility receives a procedure manual, camera-ready ads, and a screening kit that includes age appropriate screening forms, an educational lecture with slides, depression brochures, posters, and a video.
For more information on the 1997 National Depression Screening Day, write: National Depression Screening Day, 1Washington Street, Suite 304, Wellesley Hills, MA 02181-1706. Telephone: (617) 239-0071. Fax: (617) 431-7447. Web site: http://www.nmisp.org ]
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