Website of patients' experiences launches new module on depression
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
An internet health resource that draws on the experiences of patients to inform others has launched a new module on depression, its first mental health condition.
The Database of Individual Patient Experiences (DIPEx) already provides information on 13 conditions, including breast cancer, heart disease, and epilepsy, and distinguishes itself from other sites by relating people抯 personal experiences of an illness (www.dipex.org).
For the depression module researchers interviewed 38 men and women between the ages of 16 and 57 from all over the United Kingdom with various types and degrees of depression.
They talk about their personal anxieties and, sometimes, despair; which treatments helped them; and how they recovered from their illness. Their stories are available on the website in video, audio, or written format and are backed up with general information about depression and how it is treated.
"Depression is common, debilitating, and potentially serious," said Louis Appleby, the national director for mental health in England and professor of psychiatry at the University of Manchester, at the launch of the new module. "DIPEx picks up the diversity of experiences among people who suffer from depression and takes us forward by building on the noble tradition of understanding health through patient experience."
The site抯 developers hope it will serve as a useful training tool for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals as well as a resource for patients and their families. The module on depression has been funded jointly by the Department of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health for England.
The journalist and broadcaster Jon Snow, who is also DIPEx抯 patron, said, "The 13 DIPEx sites available so far have great potential to challenge our preconceptions about illness. The depression site confronts the stigma about mental illness and will help bring about improvements in the lives of many who are coping alone and unattended."
Dr Ann McPherson, a GP in Oxford, founded DIPEx with Dr Andrew Herxheimer, emeritus fellow from the UK Cochrane Centre, after their own personal experiences of illness. She said that the charity hopes to expand further its mental health coverage in the future, providing that funds are available.
"When you are suffering from depression you face an overwhelming sense of isolation. Hearing what others have gone through can help you realise you are not alone and that others have felt as bad as you do but have recovered," she said about the new module.(London Zosia Kmietowicz)
The Database of Individual Patient Experiences (DIPEx) already provides information on 13 conditions, including breast cancer, heart disease, and epilepsy, and distinguishes itself from other sites by relating people抯 personal experiences of an illness (www.dipex.org).
For the depression module researchers interviewed 38 men and women between the ages of 16 and 57 from all over the United Kingdom with various types and degrees of depression.
They talk about their personal anxieties and, sometimes, despair; which treatments helped them; and how they recovered from their illness. Their stories are available on the website in video, audio, or written format and are backed up with general information about depression and how it is treated.
"Depression is common, debilitating, and potentially serious," said Louis Appleby, the national director for mental health in England and professor of psychiatry at the University of Manchester, at the launch of the new module. "DIPEx picks up the diversity of experiences among people who suffer from depression and takes us forward by building on the noble tradition of understanding health through patient experience."
The site抯 developers hope it will serve as a useful training tool for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals as well as a resource for patients and their families. The module on depression has been funded jointly by the Department of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health for England.
The journalist and broadcaster Jon Snow, who is also DIPEx抯 patron, said, "The 13 DIPEx sites available so far have great potential to challenge our preconceptions about illness. The depression site confronts the stigma about mental illness and will help bring about improvements in the lives of many who are coping alone and unattended."
Dr Ann McPherson, a GP in Oxford, founded DIPEx with Dr Andrew Herxheimer, emeritus fellow from the UK Cochrane Centre, after their own personal experiences of illness. She said that the charity hopes to expand further its mental health coverage in the future, providing that funds are available.
"When you are suffering from depression you face an overwhelming sense of isolation. Hearing what others have gone through can help you realise you are not alone and that others have felt as bad as you do but have recovered," she said about the new module.(London Zosia Kmietowicz)