Twice as many women as men are diagnosed with depression and Dr. Hegadoren's continuing work could offer valuable information to help improve therapies specifically for women.
Clinical depression is a serious and prevalent mental illness with tremendous costs for society.
Dr. Keith Dobson is working with depression patients to try and identify which people will experience relapses and what psychosocial variables distinguish them from patients who do not relapse, in order to plan effective intervention programs. Dr. Scott Patten's research explores innovative ways to predict and prevent depression. He has also studied delirium, a state of mental confusion, often nightmarish illusions, restlessness, and incoherence that can result from adverse drug reactions. His research results will be used to develop guidelines for the prevention of depression and delirium. A Health Technology Assessment conducted on the viability of telemedicine showed that the new technology, which links up patients in remote areas with doctors in urban areas through video and phone lines, is a good fit with psychiatry.