| Popis: |
BACKGROUND Depression is one of the commonest yet most debilitating mental health problems, affecting an estimated 121m people worldwide (WHO 2009). Whilst many people (approximately 20%) experience a single major depressive episode, the majority recover only partially, or relapse and experience a recurrence of depression. For many people, depression must therefore be understood as a relapsing condition, which requires longterm management to minimise the impact of the disorder on their quality of life.OBJECTIVES The objective of the analysis is to quantify the costs and health benefits of the current system of care for patients with long-term depression, and to identify cost-effective improvements to the system through innovative decision-analytic modelling techniques. Patients with long-term depression are often treated within different health services, and the chronic nature of the condition means that the whole patient pathway needs to be evaluated. Novel “Whole Disease Modelling” methods (Paul Tappenden thesis: University of Sheffield) allow the whole system of care to be modelled. This means that the impact in terms of patient benefits as well as the resource implications can be evaluated for the whole patient lifetime. |
