ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 143
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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20 years of Diagnosis, Management and Outcomes of
Depression in Primary Care (diamond) study
A/Prof Patty Chondros, Prof Jane Gunn, Konstancja Densley, Maria Stambas, Ms Amy Coe,
Roxanne Kritharidis, Dr Alison Flehr, Dr Catherine Kaylor-Hughes, Victoria Palmer
The University of Melbourne
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The year 2023 celebrates 20 years of the Diagnosis, Management and Outcomes of Depression
in Primary Care (diamond) study, a mixed-methods naturalistic investigation of 789 patients with
depressive symptoms in 30 Australian (Victorian) general practice clinics. What began as a one-year
study turned into a major 13-year project, collecting over 15,000 questionnaires and 5000 hours of
telephone interviews; diamond systematically documented patient-reported experiences of care in the
general practice setting. The diamond study was awarded 10 years of consecutive NHMRC funding
and has twice been included in their ‘Ten of the Best’ collection.
Notable diamond outcomes include uncovering a dose–response relationship between chronic
conditions and depression, mapping depression trajectories over time, exploring long-term
antidepressant use and the development of a clinical prediction tool. The diamond data have
underpinned two randomised controlled trials testing a new model of digitally supported collaborative
care and care navigation; and continue to inform important advancements in the understanding of
people living with depression.
Strategies employed in the development of diamond included co-design with general practitioners,
early involvement of biostatisticians, a careful consideration of potential biases and the early
standardisation of operating procedures. Regarding the utility of the data, a holistic approach to
the included measures and questions provided a rich and versatile dataset, and consistency in
questionnaires and surveys was key to the applicability of the longitudinal data.
This presentation details the diamond study as a unique resource documenting many aspects of
the decade-long health and wellbeing stories of its participants. It also provides insight into how
implementation of research infrastructure in the study’s early stages was crucial to its longevity and
success, and how this early planning provided for the utility and ongoing application of the outcomes,
including barriers faced when conducting primary care research and the strategies employed to
overcome them.
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