Cognitive behavioural therapy and hospital readmission in patient with depression.

Abstract

Depression is a common mental disorder that can become chronic and if untreated, may affect the individual's ability to continue with his/her everyday life. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the most researched therapy for depression in both the acute phase and as a maintenance treatment. This project aims to identify recent studies and critically appraise them to determine the effect of CBT on persons with depression. The research question set was whether cognitive-behaviour therapy reduces hospital readmission in patients with depression. The PICO element consisted of individuals with depression (P), cognitive behavioural therapy (I), treatment as usual (C) promoting recovery (0). Ten full text studies published in English between 2000 and 2011 have been identified using electronic search through Academic Search Complete database and PubMed search engine. In turn these have been critically appraised using the CASP tools. Studies involving co-morbidities have been excluded. CBT was demonstrated to reduce relapse and recurrence in persons with depression, both in the acute phase and moreover as a maintenance treatment in conjunction with medication. No significance difference has been observed between individual and group CBT formats. In an effort to improve care quality and reduce risk of relapse, current services may need evaluation for better liaison with agencies in the mental health sector. Mental health nurses also need to continue developing their CBT skills in an endeavour to deliver optimum care. Further research may need to address when to introduce CBT as a sequential treatment and the length of time of such therapy.