Psychosocial interventions for the management of depressive symptoms among older adults in primary care in Brazil

• Grant number: 22/05107-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Marcia Scazufca
• Grantee: Carina Akemi Nakamura
• Supervisor: Ricardo Ignacio Araya Baltra
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: King's College London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/19343-9 - MRC-FAPESP cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) for late life depression in socioeconomically deprived areas of São Paulo, Brazil, BP.PD

Abstract

Depression among older adults is a public health concern. Strategies to manage this condition in primary care are still scarce in low- and middle-income countries. Thus, we have been conducting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess psychosocial interventions for the management of depressive and subthreshold depressive symptoms among older adults in primary care. The aim of this project is to analyse the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these psychosocial interventions, the associations between health-related quality of life and capability well-being measures and levels of depressive symptoms, and the mediators of the effects of the interventions on depressive outcome; and to improve the knowledge on machine learning analysis and on Implementation Science. Data collected from three different RCTs (PROACTIVE, PRODIGITAL-D and PRODIGITAL) will be used to reach these aims. The RCTs were/are being conducted with individuals aged 60+ years, registered within primary care clinics in Guarulhos and presenting with depressive or subthreshold depressive symptomatology. Psychosocial interventions based on scientific evidence are insufficient in Brazil. Machine learning analysis and Implementation Science in the mental health field are growing research areas worldwide, but still insufficiently developed in the country. This project is a collaboration with specialists in these fields at the King's College London, University of Bristol and University of Limerick. (AU)