A survey of inner London general practitioners' attitudes towards depression

The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of general practitioners (GPs) towards depression. The method used involved a postal survey using the Depression Attitude Questionnaire. The results showed that approximately 50% of the doctors said that they had seen an increase in the incidence of depression in the previous 5 years. Sixty-six percent disagreed that it was difficult to differentiate between clinical depression and unhappiness and 73% found it rewarding to look after patents with depression, while 63% admitted that it was 'heavy going'. Less than 10% reported that they would use tricyclic antidepressants as first-line treatment and approximately 38% reported that they would use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as first-line treatment. The study suggested that the GPs' attitudes and levels of awareness were comparable to the national level following the Defeat Depression Campaign. There was still a low uptake of the use of SSRIs as the first line of treatment. The results of the study led to the conclusions that more emphasis needs to be placed on liaison at the primary care level, that there needs to be a focus on specific education programmes addressing treatment options and that newer antidepressants should be used.