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Prevalence and variation in antidepressant prescribing across Northern Ireland: a longitudinal administrative data linkage study for targeted support

Safe People

Organisation name

Ulster University

Organisation sector

Academic Institute

Applicant name(s)

Mark Shevlin

Funders/ Sponsors

Economic and Social Research Council

DEA accredited researcher?

Yes

Safe Projects

Project ID

043

Lay summary

Anti-depressant prescription rates in the United Kingdom (UK) are among the highest in Western Europe and prescription rates in Northern Ireland (NI) are significantly higher than the rest of the UK. Moreover, while prescription rates are climbing annually, rates of depression are not changing, and evidence suggests that a range of socio-economic and geographical factors may be responsible. Furthermore, the majority of UK GP's often believe that alternative treatments may be more appropriate and that they would prescribe antidepressants less frequently if other options were available. Evidence seems to indicate generally that (a) there are widely different reasons why people receive anti-depressants and why GP's prescribe them, and (b) the relative importance of these reasons may vary geographically (e.g. the likelihood of receiving antidepressants may vary due to the affluence of an area or the number and proximity of available primary care services; and the associated pressures on these services).

Public benefit statement

A multi-disciplinary team of experienced academic researchers and the award winning NI charity, Aware Defeat Depression (Aware), aim to maximise the use of Census and Enhanced Prescribing Database data in NI to target, tailor and implement support for individuals in receipt of antidepressant prescriptions and to stimulate 'social prescribing' across the region (a mechanism for linking patients with non-medical sources of support within the community). Specifically the study aims to (i) provide a detailed geographical breakdown of antidepressant prescribing in NI to identify prescription 'hot spots' at a small geographical level, (ii) use linked census data to identify demographic variables (personal, social, and economic factors) that differentiate 'hot spots', (iii) determine if the association between demographic variables and 'hot spots' differs by geographical location, (iv) determine if long-term changes in people's lives (e.g. change in deprivation, family structure, physical health) are associated with antidepressant use and (v) stimulate 'social prescribing' across the region through targeted intervention.

Other approval committees

Latest approval date

27/08/2017

Safe Data

Dataset(s) name

Census 2001

Census 2011

Safe Setting

Access type

TRE

Safe Outputs

Link to research outputs

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