Aims:
  • To promote social and emotional wellbeing through strengthening pathways to care and support for people at risk of depression and substance misuse in remote communities
  • To develop and test a brief motivational intervention for people who are feeling depressed or taking drugs or alcohol to deal with their bad feelings.
Objectives:
  • To work with stakeholders in the communities to design and introduce depression screening and pathways to follow up care.
Summary:

Health centre clients will be invited to be involved in the project. If they agree they will be screened for depression. If they screen at high risk they will be interviewed about their resilience and stressors.

Participants will then be divided into two groups. One group will receive the ‘brief intervention’ straight away delivered by the research team. The other group will receive the brief intervention six months later delivered by Aboriginal community–based workers. These workers in the community will be trained and supported to provide the brief intervention. All participants will be reviewed regularly to monitor their progress. A final assessment will be made of all participants at the end of the study to understand the impact of the intervention.

The screening in the health centre will be linked with pathways to follow up support in the health centre and the community. Staff will be trained in the screening and follow up pathways. Health centre files will be audited and staff interviewed each year to monitor progress and adapt the pathways as agreed.

Chief Investigator:
Project manager:
  • Dr Rachael Hinton
Project dates:

The project commenced in January 2010 and concluded in February 2014.