OPTIMIZING HEALTHCARE FOR PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION THROUGH MODERN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Contact: Dr. Markus Moessner (markus.moessner(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de)

Project period: 2014-2015

Project description

Major depression (MD) is a serious mental illness with a high prevalence. It is accompanied by considerable losses in quality of life affected individuals and their relatives and leads to high economic burdens on society. Despite relatively effective treatment options during the episode, the risk of relapse is high and recurrent courses of the disease are correspondingly frequent.

Modern information and communication technology (ICT), such as the Internet, smart phones and mobile phones, opens up new opportunities to significantly improve the situation of patients through individualized, adaptive interventions. Bridging geographic and psychosocial distances facilitates access, and partial automation reduces effort. The joint development or further development and testing of such novel approaches forms the strategic goal of the planned collaboration.

Main objectives of the collaboration are to adapt the Internet-based intervention strategy for patients with recurrent depression developed by the (German) applicant for use in Chile, to conduct a pilot study, and to prepare a clinical trial to investigate the efficacy.

Cooperation partner

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad de Chile
(Prof. Dr. M. Krause, Prof. Dr. G. Rojas Castillo)