Screening for Mental Health, Inc., the leading nonprofit provider of online and in-person mental health screening programs, today released results from a follow-up study of participants in the 2008 National Depression Screening Day® (NDSD) online program. The study found that over half of participants sought depression treatment in the three months following their initial screening. NDSD, the nation’s oldest voluntary, community-based screening program for depression and related disorders, provides individuals with the opportunity to complete a validated screening questionnaire, receive educational information about depression, and obtain a recommendation and referral for further evaluation if warranted.
“The results of this study are very encouraging as they reinforce the effectiveness of anonymous, web-based screening programs in connecting individuals at risk for depression with treatment resources,” said Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and founder of Screening for Mental Health, Inc. “Early detection of mental health disorders such as depression greatly increases the chances that an individual will receive the appropriate treatment and experience a better quality of life.”
The study was conducted by Robert Aseltine, Ph.D., Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health and Director of the Institute for Public Health Research at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Dr. Aseltine surveyed 322 participants who completed the depression screening tool online between October and December of 2008 and sought to evaluate the success of online screenings in leading individuals into treatment. According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, nearly two thirds of people suffering from depression do not seek help, but the NDSD survey suggests that confidential online screenings, which are highly accessible and nonthreatening to users, may help to improve these statistics.
Findings from the survey include: