Depressive disorders are the second most prevalent group of mental illnesses in the elderly after dementia. The prevalence of depression in geriatric care facilities in Germany is almost twice as high as in the older general population.

An adequate therapeutic care of the affected residents requires a successful coordination and collaboration of nursing, general and specialist as well as psychotherapeutic care aspects.

The aim of the DAVOS research project is therefore to implement an innovative and graded program for improving the treatment of depression for residents of elderly care facilities and to evaluate their effectiveness under everyday conditions. Among others this happens via involving caregivers, general practitioners, psychologists / psychotherapists and medical specialists in a co-ordinated collaborative approach that facilitates access to guideline-based therapies for nursing home residents with clinically manifest or subsyndromal (but clinically relevant) depression and evidence-based psychosocial and  psychotherapeutic intervention modules (mindfulness-based elements such as meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and reminiscence therapy).

The implementation of the intervention and data collection in the nursing homes will start in the autumn of 2018.