Study Title:  Evaluation of a System of Structured, Pro-active care for Chronic Depression in Primary Care.

Study Acronym:  ProCEED (pro-active care and its evaluation for enduring depression.

Research Objectives

To establish whether structured, pro-active care of patients with chronic depression in primary care leads to a cost-effective improvement when compared with usual GP care and to follow-up of patients with chronic depression.

We wish to evaluate whether careful attention to consistent care is reflected in better mental health and social outcomes for these patients.  We are including a cost-effectiveness component.  This will be a randomised controlled trail, with randomisation by patient within practices.  The comparison will be between ‘GP usual care’ (control), versus a ‘structured care’ approach involving regular follow-up by practice nurses (intervention) in addition to GP usual care, for patients with a history of recurrent of chronic depression.