Preventing relapse of depression in primary care: a pilot study of the "Keeping the blues away" program.

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of "Keeping the blues away" (KBA), a manualised depression relapse prevention program for general practice, in reducing the relapse of depression compared with usual care (with the aim of halving the relapse rate), and in reducing depression severity and improving the process of care.

Design And Setting: A cluster randomised controlled trial conducted in 2004-2005 in South Australian general practices.

Participants: 43 general practitioners from 23 urban and rural practices recruited 110 patients with depression (age range, 18-75 years).