• Melinda N Stanners, Christopher A Barton, Sepehr Shakib, and Helen R Winefield.
• Discipline of General Practice, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia. melinda.stanners@flinders.edu.au.
• Bmc Fam Pract. 2014 Jun 19; 15: 124124.

BackgroundWe explored experiences of depression diagnosis and treatment amongst multimorbid patients referred to a metropolitan multidisciplinary outpatient clinic to identify commonalities across this patient group.MethodsPatients with two or more chronic conditions and a diagnosis of depression participated in semi-structured interviews that were digitally recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcriptions.ResultsMultimorbid patients attributed depressive symptoms to the loss of 'normal' roles and functionality and struggled to reconcile the depression diagnosis with their sense of identity. Beliefs about themselves and depression affected their receptivity to diagnosis and intervention strategies. These included prescribed interventions, such as psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy, and patient-developed strategies.ConclusionsFunctional and social role losses present a clear context in which GPs should raise the subject of mood, with the situational attribution of depression suggesting that psychotherapy, which is rarely offered, should be prioritised in these circumstances.

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