Improving Australians' depression literacy

Abstract

Community awareness and understanding of depression ("depression literacy") underpins successful implementation of prevention, early intervention and treatment programs. Improving depression literacy is a major goal of beyondblue: the national depression initiative. Although other countries have previously attempted to address this issue, there is little evidence to indicate that those attempts have achieved their aims. Work in other areas of health promotion, such as the widely used PRECEDE model, offers a useful framework from which to develop effective depression literacy initiatives in Australia. This model proposes that effective health promotion strategies should focus not on health ac..