Symptoms of depression are in most cases confused with symptoms of other mental disorders that interfere with normal living. As such, depression is rarely diagnosed at its early stages; and explains why it is becoming a global issue in modern society. The reason why depression has not been effectively dealt with, especially in the modern society, is because efficient treatment methods have not been developed. To counter the effects of depression in society, research to distinguish depression symptoms from other mental issues is necessary so that the general public can have detailed information regarding depression. There is also a need to establish well scrutinized combat methods to deal with depression among people. But before research is done on the diagnosis of depression and treatment, as a researcher, I should develop a reliable research plan. In this paper, a detailed research proposal has been developed to assist in carrying out conclusive research on how to diagnose depression and reliable treatment methods.
Purpose and Rationale
Losing a family member or a close friend to a treatable health condition is sad. I have lost three family members and one close friend due to depression in the last six years. What annoys most about their deaths is that medics only diagnosed their conditions at the very final stages. All along, they were misdiagnosed with different mental disorders; that never healed despite persistent medication. I was particularly hurt by my mother's death, who was my role life role model and source of hope in my education. Losing family members in quick succession and due to a similar health condition ignited my desire to research depression and treatment methods to minimize deaths among people due to depression. There is a need to develop long-term solutions to the effects of depression in our society.
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The research aims to meet several set goals and targets about the diagnosis of depression and treatment. Firstly, the research will carry a deep exploration of the distinctive symptoms of depression to distinguish them from other psychological issues. Many people in society have been unable to diagnose depression among their family members or friends because its symptoms are not easily identified. Usually, depression symptoms take long before they can be identified. However, if detailed facts about depression are made known to people, then it will be possible for depression to be identified in its initial stages. Early signs of depression can only be recognized by psychology experts, who may not be accessible by all persons struggling with depression. Thus, to win the war against depression, public members must be involved by offering reliable education on diagnosing depression and proper ways of treatment.
Secondly, depression requires specialized treatment and care to minimize its side effects. For many years, people have relied on over-the-counter medications and physician prescriptions, which do not yield positive results. For that reason, this research will endeavor to develop alternative ways of dealing with depression and avert the common belief among people that healthcare workers can only treat depression through medication. Depression is a psychological issue and should be countered by implementing reliable therapeutic methods that yield positive results and help patients recover fully and within a short time. The research will incorporate psychiatrist expertise to assess alternative ways of dealing with depression in society. Also, depression cases are varied within different age groups; therefore, developing treatments that suit each age group will be more appropriate in enhancing the recovery of the affected persons.
Thirdly, there are different stages of depression, with every stage possessing its unique symptoms. Each stage of depression requires treatment and care that is most suitable to deter the sickness from advancing to the next stage. The research, therefore, will venture into identifying all depression stages and revealing all the symptoms that define a certain depression stage. By identifying and defining all the depression stages, patients and caregivers will administer the right treatment procedure to ensure full recovery is attained. Also, the research will act as a reference and guidance document to medical practitioners in testing and identifying depression cases among patients. Deterring misdiagnosis will enhance the recovery process of depression patients in society. Each patient will be diagnosed with his or her depression stage, thus, enabling caregivers and healthcare workers to prescribe the proper medication or proper alternative treatment methods.
Plan of Work
The first step of this research will be to carry out literature on articles and journals compiled by researchers on depression. To effectively research depression and its treatment, the journal of Psychiatrist Times provided essential information. The journal provides in-depth information on depression symptoms, causes, and possible treatment methods. As I carry on with the research work, I intend to incorporate several psychiatrists, psychologists, and sociologists through interviews and filling in questionnaires. Also, I will visit a minimum of ten psychiatrist institution to gather more data on how they diagnose depression and the methods of treatment they employ. A total of 30 psychiatrists, 18 psychologists, and 15 sociologists have already agreed to participate in the research by giving relevant data. Besides, the ten psychiatrists' institutions I intend to incorporate in the research have already agreed to offer maximum cooperation to ensure the research turns out as planned and that reliable results are achieved. The final phase of the research will involve compiling the data received, analyzing it and coming up with a final draft identifying the answers to the research question. I already have an IRB approval to incorporate human subjects in the research. Therefore, I will ensure that research participants’ rights are highly upheld. The data obtained from the research participants will assist in compiling conclusive information about depression.
Outline of Proposed Paper
Introduction
Research to enlighten the public on the causes and treatment of depression
General overview of depression
General structure of the research
Purpose and rationale
Stages of depression
Depression has different stages, and it develops gradually
The initial stages are not easily recognized
The different stages of depression require varied treatment methods
When identified early, depression can easily be dealt with
At its late stages, depression needs specialized treatment and care
Symptoms of depression
Its unique symptoms characterize each stage of depression
With proper knowledge of depression symptoms, identification and treatment becomes easy
There is a need to distinguish depression symptoms from other diseases’ symptoms
How to treat depression
Drug prescription from healthcare specialists
can treat depression
Non-medical ways like counselling, exercise, and motivational talks can also aid in treating depression
Medics can use medical prescriptions and non-medical methods interchangeably to treat depression
Data collection
Data collected through interviews
Sampling of data collected
Data analysis to establish conclusive information on depression and how to treat it.
Conclusion
Review of Literature
Depression is a psychological issue that affects many members of society. As a result, numerous articles, journals, and research works have been compiled to develop depression and possible treatment methods. A deep exploration of the symptoms of depression and how it advances through different stages has also been done. For instance, the journal of Psychiatrist Times by Joanna et al. (2018) gives voluminous data on depression and possible treatment methods. This article will be a reliable reference for all terms related to depression in our society.
Furthermore, the article gives details of numerous emerging issues in the fight against depression. Thus, it will be of great importance in coming up with a conclusive answer to all the issues associated with depression and its treatment. Another article that will be useful during this research is the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which deals specifically with depression cases in society. The importance of the American Psychiatric Association is paramount because it possesses all depression data in the United States. The American Psychiatrist Association comprises psychiatrist experts who can offer crucial information and data on depression prevalence in society. According to the American Psychiatrist Association (2021), depression cases are on the rise. Therefore, medical practitioners should develop countermeasures to enhance the well-being of the citizens.
The article “Indicators of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder in Need of Highly Specialized Care: A Systematic Review" by Krugten et al. (2017) explores different stages and intensity of depression. The article by Krugten et al. (2017) will be useful in providing conclusive information on the different stages that depression goes through once contracted by an individual. Also, the article suggests possible ways to use in treating depression in each stage of development. As such, I will use the article to verify the data collected on depression development stages. Bipolar disorder is a mental condition that is caused by continued depression conditions in an individual. Bipolar disorder occurs when depression is left untreated for a long period or when an individual is exposed to life situations that lead to depression for a long time (McCormick, Murray, and McNew, 2015). McCormick, Murray, and McNew (2015) will be a resourceful article during the research because it sheds light on what might happen when depression is left untreated for long. "Prevalence of Depression and Depressive Symptoms Among Outpatients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” article by Wang et al. (2017) is another article that I will use in this research work. The article by Wang et al. (2017) explores depression prevalence in society and the symptoms to look for to determine whether an individual has depression or not. In particular, this article compares depression prevalence among outpatients and inpatients from different healthcare facilities. The article reveals that outpatients are more prone to depression than inpatients. Therefore, the article can help guide this research on the population to concentrate on researching depression and treatment methods.
Laura Goldman (2019) discusses what depression entails and actions to take if one develops symptoms of depression. Goldman (2019) article provides counter actions that can be relied upon to ease the effects of depression. The research will use this article to provide data on the alternative ways of dealing with depression apart from medicines prescription. As the research continues, I will obtain more details on depression prevalence and treatment from the World Health Organization website. The World Health Organization (2021) provides important data on the prevalence of depression in the United States. It reports on the most suitable ways to deal with depression among patients and society. Thus, the research will rely on data compiled by the World Health Organization to enhance the efficacy of the research work and aid in obtaining data that does not require fieldwork. World Health Organization also provides information on the distribution of psychiatrist institution in the United States. Also, information on how to reach psychiatrists, psychologists, and sociologists is provided. This article will generally give first-hand information on where data for the research can be obtained with less struggle.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2021). What Is Depression? https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
Goldman, L. (2019). What Is Depression and What Can I Do About It? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8933
Krugten, F., Kaddouri, M., Goorden, M., Balkom, A., Bockting, C., Peeters, F., & Roijen, L. (2017 ). Indicators of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder in Need of Highly Specialized Care: A Systematic Review . PLOS. 12(2). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0171659
McCormick, U., Murray, B., & McNew, B. (2015). Diagnosis and Treatment of Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Review for Advanced Practice Nurses . 27(9): 530–542. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034840/
Wang, J., Wu, X., Lai, W., Long, E., Zhang, X., Li, W., Zhu, Y., Chen, C., Zhong, X., Liu, Z., Wang, D., & Lin, H. (2017). Prevalence of Depression and Depressive Symptoms Among Outpatients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis . 7(8): 1-14. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/7/8/e017173.full.pdf
World Health Organization, (2021). Depression. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
Yu, J., Behan, B., Vaccarino, A., Theriault, E., Parikh, S., Rotzinger, S., & Kennedy, S. (2018). Big Data for Depression, Journal of Psychiatric Times. 35(10). https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/big-data-depression
