Impact of Collaborative Care on Depression in Patients Aged 60+: A Secondary Analysis of the GermanIMPACT Study on Behavioural Activation

Depressive disorders are highly prevalent among older adults (60+) in Europe. Activating these patients was a core component of the GermanIMPACT study, which evaluated collaborative care in a cluster-randomized primary care setting. The intervention group showed a significant improvement in PHQ-9 remission. The aim of this secondary analysis was to investigate which activities were planned and whether their implementation or non-implementation was associated with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) after 12 months. Behavioural activation data were collected by the care managers. A categorization for activity type (collected as free text) and activity implementation status was developed. The association of successfully implemented activities, planned-not-implemented activities, and the number of activities per patient with the 12-month PHQ-9 total score was calculated using logistic regressions (adjusted for age, gender, living situation/baseline PHQ-9). A total 2188 activities were planned for 136 patients; 66% were successfully implemented. Mean age was 71 (±7) years (78% female; 52% living alone). Activities focusing on “self-care/spirituality” improved the PHQ-9 outcome (OR 1.540; p = 0.048), while planned-not-implemented activities overall worsened it (OR 1.16; p = 0.007). Patient activation is key to treating depressive symptoms in old age. Particularly ‘self-care/spirituality’ activities could be planned, and organizational activities should be closely supported.