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"Between the Lines West Flanders" - core group
Regional cordinator
LUCAS - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Prof. Dr. Chantal Van Audenhove, PhD
Director Lucas
Kapucijnenvoer 35
B - 3000 Leuven
Phone +32.16.333610
Fax +32.16.336922
Chantal.Vanaudenhove@med.kuleuven.ac.be
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Research fellow LUCAS
Gert Scheerder
Phone +32.16.336912
gert.scheerder@med.kuleuven.ac.be
www.kuleuven.ac.be/lucas
Information on regional EAAD activities and offers can be found on the web page of LUCAS (see "Internationale Projecten").
Regional partners - Brugge
Dr. Hans van den Ameele
Psychiatrist, AZ St-Jan & AZ St Lucas, Brugge
Dr. Michel Goetinck
General practitioner, Brugge
Regional partners - Ieper
Dr. Wim Lecot
Psychiatrist, Ieper
Dr. Jef Vulsteke
General practitioner, Ieper
"Between the lines West Flanders":
Towards a stepped care for people with depression
Aim of the project
The project ‘Between The Lines’, an initiative of general practitioners and PAAZ-psychiatrists of Brugge and Ieper, was set up to improve the treatment of depression in family practice. The aim was to optimize the collaboration between general practitioners and mental health care in the region of Brugge and Ieper and to develop a stepped-care program for patients with depression. Care improvement and making transparent engagements between the care partners on the regional level are the target-results.
This project is intended to introduce change in the daily practice. Therefore, the methodology of action-studies is used. Tools and instruments are developed, while the useful elements can instantly be implemented in practice. The project-partners integrate different types of knowledge: evidence-based knowledge, experience-based knowledge and personal affinities.
Recruiting local partners
A group of more than 40 general practitioners and 10 psychiatrists already are involved evaluate the proposed and developed instruments on their usefulness. The project is well known in both regions by the GPs and psychiatrists. Also in mental health care services and to the policy-level and organisations of GPs this project was presented.
An academic steering group is installed to function as a brainstorm group for the project and to promote the implementation of the results in the basic educations of doctors and in postacademic education in other regions.
Results
The project started in December 2000 in the region of Brugge. The results are:
- qualitative study about the co-operation between general practitioners and psychiatrists for the treatment of depression
- the development and presentation of a (temporary) Transmural Protocol Depression to the general practitioners;
- research concerning colleague consultation in the treatment of depression: the perspective of general practitioners and psychiatrists;
- action-study about the general practitioner’s assessment and decision making process in the treatment of depression;
- development, implementation and evaluation of a four-day training course;
- publication of the results and of a manual/book about the education program
In October 2003 the project started in the region Ieper. The results are:
- Qualitative study about the co-operation and the training needs of GP’s and psychiatrists in the region
- Plans for an educational program to be realized in the fall.
Participation in EAAD
The participation in EAAD will give this project a new input:
- By the opportunities to enlarge the scope of the project to other groups of professionals and to the larger public.
- By the possibility of the systematic evaluation in a research project.
We think that our experiences in the education of GPs and with the other methods and tools of the action research could be useful for the large group of EAAD.
Bottlenecks
Financial aspects are at the moment the most important bottleneck.
It is our intention to involve as a surplus, a full time Ph.D student for the time of the project.
Coasts of this stipendium for one year are 33.000 euro plus 12% overhead whereas the EC funding for this will be about 24.000 euro minus 40% for 18 months.
It is our intention for the coming months to find extra funding for the research-part of Between the Lines, becoming a partner in EAAD.
Last update: 21.07.2010