Depression and Antidepressants: A Nordic Perspective

Abstract

The Nordic countries are all established welfare states, and there has for some time existed a notion of a distinctive Nordic or Scandinavian welfare state. Considerable differences seem to exist between for example the psychiatric services within, as well as between, the Nordic countries when it comes to history, mental health acts and allocation of resources. Some argue that it is not even possible to speak of a common Nordic political approach to public health, since all programs contain contradictory policies and ideological statements regarding the emphasis on individual behavior versus choice and living conditions and political responsibilities. Lately, the Nordic countries have performed well in comparative research of health policy in European countries but also regarding health care system in OECD countries. While it appears that the case for the existence of a Nordic model is strong there is actually no consensus of the precise specification of the feature that defines the model. Despite similarities in health care and health policy performance the Nordic countries seem to be quite diverse regarding the prevalence of depression (and the information provided) and sales of antidepressants.