The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Jan 2007
Have education and publicity about depression made a difference? Comparison of prevalence, service use and excess costs in South Australia: 1998 and 2004.
To identify changes in depression, its management and associated excess costs, between 1998 and 2004 in South Australia. ⋯ There has been no significant improvement in the prevalence of depression and its associated morbidity and financial burden in the South Australian community between 1998 and 2004, despite a number of professional and community education programmes. It is possible that without these efforts and the increased treatment reported on in this survey, there may have been an increase in the prevalence of depression and an even greater financial burden. However, it is also possible that community services for the provision of treatment for depression have not been able to implement research strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective.