On Friday June 8 researchers from the CaRe research school had their annual retreat. This time the meeting was held in Amsterdam, hosted by the EMGO Institute. CaRe unites researchers from the VU University and Medical Center (EMGO Institute), Maastricht University, Nijmegen University, and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL) with an interest in research for trans and extramural health care, primary health care, prevention and health promotion. The theme this year was ‘Prevention Research’.
After Professor Guy Widdershoven, director of CaRe had opened the meeting with a brief overview of CaRe’s mission and goals, I had the honor of chairing the morning session. This morning session was focussed specifically on prevention of mental disorders and on mental health promotion. First Professor Nanne de Vries from Maastricht University build a case for careful planning and evidence-based practice in prevention, and for adopting a broader health promotion perspective in promotion of public mental health. He also illustrated once more the lack of governmental funding for prevention efforts.
Next Professor Pim Cuijpers (In the middle, in the yellow shirt), VU University and EMGO Institute, very clearly illustrated the importance of mental disorders as determinants of population health in the Netherlands. Anxiety disorders and depression are amongst the most prevalent disorders, causing substantial loss of quality of life and are responsible for more than 20% of total health care costs. He further argued that since treatment of mental disorders is certainly not always effective and relapse often occurs, prevention efforts should be intensified.
Heleen Riper (right to Pim in the picture) highlighted one very promising avenue for prevention efforts: web-based prevention programs. The Netherlands is among the countries with the highest internet access rates, and various evidence-based web-delivered programs are available for such disorders as depression, alcohol dependency and anxiety disorders.
Las but not least, our foreign guest, Professor Charles Reynolds (on the mid left, the man in the nice suit) from Pittsburgh University gave his address, in which he presented original research showing the effects of relapse prevention efforts on top of medical interventions for sustaining effects in depression treatment.
A lively round table discussion followed between the four speakers and the approximately 120 CaRe researchers.
After Professor Guy Widdershoven, director of CaRe had opened the meeting with a brief overview of CaRe’s mission and goals, I had the honor of chairing the morning session. This morning session was focussed specifically on prevention of mental disorders and on mental health promotion. First Professor Nanne de Vries from Maastricht University build a case for careful planning and evidence-based practice in prevention, and for adopting a broader health promotion perspective in promotion of public mental health. He also illustrated once more the lack of governmental funding for prevention efforts.
Next Professor Pim Cuijpers (In the middle, in the yellow shirt), VU University and EMGO Institute, very clearly illustrated the importance of mental disorders as determinants of population health in the Netherlands. Anxiety disorders and depression are amongst the most prevalent disorders, causing substantial loss of quality of life and are responsible for more than 20% of total health care costs. He further argued that since treatment of mental disorders is certainly not always effective and relapse often occurs, prevention efforts should be intensified.
Heleen Riper (right to Pim in the picture) highlighted one very promising avenue for prevention efforts: web-based prevention programs. The Netherlands is among the countries with the highest internet access rates, and various evidence-based web-delivered programs are available for such disorders as depression, alcohol dependency and anxiety disorders.
Las but not least, our foreign guest, Professor Charles Reynolds (on the mid left, the man in the nice suit) from Pittsburgh University gave his address, in which he presented original research showing the effects of relapse prevention efforts on top of medical interventions for sustaining effects in depression treatment.
A lively round table discussion followed between the four speakers and the approximately 120 CaRe researchers.
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