Author: Siysila Ndzeshang, Gabriela Carrillo-Balam
Year: 2025
Category:
Health Publications
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is currently recommended as a first line neuromodulation treatment for individuals with treatment-resistant depression, a form of depression that does not respond adequately to standard treatments such as antidepressant medication and psychotherapy.
There is robust evidence from clinical trials demonstrating its efficacy, highlighting the potential for expanding its application in depression treatment. However, evaluations of real-world programmes are critical to assess how rTMS performs in diverse clinical populations and settings.
These evaluations can provide insights into programme outcomes and other components which are essential for informing service planning and policy development. This evidence scan aimed to identify and synthesise available evidence on the evaluation of rTMS programmes, focusing exclusively on Canadian research.
The findings are intended to inform future rTMS evaluations in the province of New Brunswick. To achieve this, we conducted a systematic search across three academic databases and synthesised the relevant literature on effectiveness and evaluation indicators.
