Adult Depression Brochure

The brochure under review is titled “What you should know about adult depression.” It was published in 2013 by The Joint Commission to provide credible evidence about adult depression, which has affected many people globally. Depression is a serious and common condition affecting people of all ages. The brochure was developed in collaboration with other organizations such as the Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association of Social Workers and Depression, and Bipolar Support Alliance, just to mention a few.

Summary of Brochure

Depression is more than a sad feeling in that it leads to one losing interest in activities or feeling overwhelmed. There are several warning signs of depression, including loss of pleasure or interest, difficulty making decisions, low energy, lack of sleep, social withdrawal, increased/reduced appetite, and suicide thoughts. While depression affects individuals of all ages, there are factors that put one at risk (The Joint Commission, 2013). One of the factors is a family history of depression, substance abuse, or bipolar disorder. Having another mental health condition such as PTSD, anxiety disorder, or a previous depression episode also increases the risk of depression. Traumatic life events such as job loss, divorce, or death of a loved one can also trigger depression. Some prescriptive medicines can also cause depression as well as other medical conditions such as kidney failure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and serious injury.

When faced with depression, one can seek help from friends, family, and doctors or simply reach out to someone who can help. There are several treatment options available, including counseling, talk therapy, antidepressant medicine, and support groups and commonly work best when used together. Therapy helps one acquire more information about depression and learn ways of managing it (The Joint Commission, 2013). For medicine, there are different drugs in the market, and it is important to work with the doctor to identify what works for an individual. While it may be hard to reach out to family and friends, isolating oneself is likely to make the depression worse. Having a friend or family member as an advocate of care offers relevant support. If untreated, depression can lead to damaging consequences such as suicide, loss of job, or relationship/marriage problems. Waiting and hoping that the symptoms will disappear can be devastating. Again, adopting other quick fixes such as drugs or alcohol makes depression more intense.

It takes time for one to feel better, and there are several things that one can do to ensure the treatment is effective and successful with the guidance of the doctor or therapist. First, it is significant to follow the treatment plan. If the treatment is not working, it is not important not to stop treatment abruptly in that it may take time to observe any improvements. In addition, if one is feeling better, treatment should continue to ensure the depression is fully treated. It is also important to stick to one’s routine, exercise regularly, spend time outdoors, sleep enough, and reduce stress (The Joint Commission, 2013). Most significant to note is that depression is no one’s fault and thus. More information about adult depression can be sought from different sources such as the Mental Health First Aid, NAMI and DBSAlliance, among others.

Evaluation of Brochure

The brochure is well written with the information presented in an easy to read and understand language. There was no use of medical jargon that would otherwise confuse the reader. Protheroe, Estacio & Saidy-Khan (2015) argue that regardless of the purpose, any patient providing leaflet must be read, noticed, understood, remembered, and believed. Current research on depression supported the information presented in the brochure (Schaakxs et al., 2017). The current brochure was written in collaboration with many credible organizations giving it some credibility. It could have been improved by providing in-text references to be able to identify where to seek more information about a specific aspect of adult depression. This topic interests me due to the low treatment rates of adult depression cases in the U.S (Olfson, Blanco & Marcus, 2016). The information in the brochure is very useful and could be merged in patient education to increase patient literacy on depression. The brochure applies all adults dealing with depression but can also anyone else to identify depression risk factors. This information can improve patient safety in that patients will have all the relevant information about depression and guide them into making good choices.

Conclusion

Depression is an adverse condition, especially when left untreated. The brochure has presented up to date information supported by current research in the field in an easy to understand language. The fact that adult depression is undertreated in the U.S is what sparked my interest in this topic. For a person at risk of adult depression, following the information provided in the brochure will ensure that treatment is sought and the right combination of treatment options identified. The information will also ensure that feeling better or not noticing any changes does not mean that one should stop with treatment.

References

Olfson, M., Blanco, C., & Marcus, S. C. (2016). Treatment of adult depression in the United States. JAMA internal medicine, 176(10), 1482-1491. https://doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.5057

Protheroe, J., Estacio, E. V., & Saidy-Khan, S. (2015). Patient information materials in general practices and promotion of health literacy: an observational study of their effectiveness. Br J Gen Pract, 65(632), e192-e197. Retrieved from https://bjgp.org/content/bjgp/65/632/e192.full.pdf

Schaakxs, R., Comijs, H. C., van der Mast, R. C., Schoevers, R. A., Beekman, A. T., & Penninx, B. W. (2017). Risk factors for depression: differential across age?. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(9), 966-977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2017.04.004

The Joint Commission. (2013). Speak Up: What You Should Know About Adult Depression. Retrieved 16 March 2020, from https://www.jointcommission.org/-/media/tjc/documents/resources/speak-up/speakup_depressionpdf.pdf