Enhanced Measurement Based Care Effectiveness for Depression (EMBED)

Background

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects more than 300 million people globally and is now the leading cause of disability and burden of disease worldwide . Across the 36 largest countries in the world, more than 50 million years of lost productivity are attributable to depression and anxiety disorders every year, at an estimated cost of US$925 billion. On the other hand, scaled-up treatment of MDD can lead to large economic productivity gains of a net value of $230 billion. Despite known effective treatments for depression, fewer than half of those affected in the world (in many countries, fewer than 10%) receive such treatments. Barriers to effective care include a lack of human and service resources, social stigma, and limited access to proper assessment, outcome measurement and monitoring, and evidence-based treatments, especially psychological treatments.

In China, depression is the second-most commonly diagnosed disease (after heart disease) and costs the nation an estimated 52 billion yuan (US$8.35 billion) every year. China’s mental health care resources have developed quickly during the past 3 decades, but more growth is needed. Most of the mental health resources, including psychiatrists and psychiatric inpatient beds, are concentrated within the larger cities, leaving the vast suburban and rural regions with few services for mental health treatment, and most psychiatric services in China still primarily serve patients with psychotic disorders. Yet, there are also indicators to suggest that China is primed to scale up in the area of evidence-based practices (EBP).

Aims

To develop a novel EBP implementation strategy by adapting, implementing and evaluating a program for eMBC in community mental health centres in Shanghai, modelled on a program implemented in Canada.

Project plan

1. Identify current BCW contextual enablers and barriers to MBC implementation in diverse settings in Shanghai;

2. Further implementation science by exploring physician and patient factors as barriers or enablers for an EBP implementation;

3. Compare the effectiveness of eMBC vs. standard MBC for physician implementation and clinical outcomes; and

4. Build knowledge and capacity for scale up of eMBC in China and beyond.

Publications and output

You may visit the project website for more information.

Funding organisations

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