Creating a safety net for patients with depression in primary care; a qualitative study of care managers’ experiences

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences and perceptions of working as care managers at primary care centers. Design: Qualitative, focus group study. Systematic text condensation was used to analyze the data. Setting: Primary health care in the region of Västra Götaland and region of Dalarna in Sweden. Subjects: Eight nurses were trained during three days including treatment of depression and how to work as care managers. The training was followed by continuous support. Main outcome measures: The nurses’ experiences and perceptions of working as care managers at primary care centers. Results: The care managers described their role as providing additional support to the already existing care at the primary care center, working in teams with a person-centered focus, where they were given the opportunity to follow, support, and constitute a safety net for patients with depression. Further, they perceived that the care manager increased continuity and accessibility to primary care for patients with depression. Conclusion: KEY POINTS: The care managers described their role as an additional support to the already existing care at the primary care center. • They emphasized that as care managers, they had a person-centered focus and constituted a safety net for patients with depression. • Their role as care managers enabled them to follow and support patients with depression over time, which made their work more meaningful. • Care managers helped to achieve continuity and accessibility to primary health care for patients with depression.