Dirk Ruwaard, Director of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport"Sport tells us that the treatment costs alone for clinical and sub-clinical depression amount to € 2.3 annually in the Netherlands. Furthermore, between 30% and 40% of all work absenteeism can be attributed to mental health problems. Clearly, there are gains to be made from new forms of online prevention. This is why this approach has the full support of the Health Ministry. " |
Broad online offensive against depressionA ten-fold expansion of the scope of depression prevention within two years, using comprehensive internet resources. And at an affordable cost. No small ambition for the programme ‘Mental Fitness’. The huge illness burden of depression means a lot is at stake. |
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Every year some 740,000 adults in the Netherlands battle with depression. Many more have depressive symptoms. Without help, this group runs a large risk of developing a full-blown depression. If this can be avoided, the gains will be huge. read more >> |
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The Trimbos Institute is joining forces with a large number of partners in developing initiatives to prevent depression. One such venture is the large-scale programme ‘Mental Fitness’ [Mentaal Vitaal], consisting of 16 sub-projects which seek to improve depression prevention on various fronts. Two portals are being developed – one for youth and the other for adults. These contain an overview of all the online resources for mental problems. The web-based ‘Colour your Life’ and ‘Everything under Control’ are being modified and expanded, in order to reach a wider target group. Furthermore, ways are being sought to incorporate these online interventions more effectively within primary health care, so that GPs and other practitioners will be more likely to refer patients to them. In order to promote mental health – whether symptoms are present or not – a new e-selfhelp intervention is being developed: the Mental Fitness Module. For people who are receiving treatment for depression, there will be a new module for relapse prevention. This is important because preventing relapse reduces the risk that the depression will acquire a chronic nature. Within the Mental Fitness programme, a standardised indication instrument with clear protocols is being developed. Its purpose is to provide appropriate prevention interventions at the right time within the care chain of prevention, treatment and aftercare. And finally, a new quality mark is being developed, and work is being done on a model which will enable funding of the new online interventions by means of the new diagnosis-treatment-combination (DBC) structure.
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'Mental Fitness: no panacea'"Project Manager, Heleen Riper believes that mental fitness is something you mainly create yourself. Whether you are in good health or not, it is something everyone has to invest in. This is why ‘Mental Fitness’ is no panacea, but offers ways to help bring wellbeing a step closer. "
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