Attitudes and beliefs about mental health among African American older adults suffering from depression
Attitudes and beliefs about mental health among African American older adults suffering from depression
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jaging.2010.05.007
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发表时间：
2010-12-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Brown, Charlotte
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Conner, Kyaien O.;Lee, Brenda;Brown, Charlotte
老年人抑郁症是一个主要的公共卫生问题，导致残疾和死亡率增加。不到 3% 的老年人利用专业心理健康服务来治疗抑郁症，这一比例低于任何其他成年人年龄组。尽管抑郁症发病率相似，但非裔美国人寻求、参与和保留专业心理健康服务的可能性明显低于白人。抑郁症状表现、定义、解释和标记方式的文化差异可能部分解释了寻求帮助行为中的一些种族差异。采用焦点小组方法来识别和探讨 42 名最近患有严重抑郁症的老年非裔美国人对抑郁症和心理健康治疗利用的态度和信念。对确定的六个总体主题进行专题分析：(a) 对抑郁症的看法，(b) 非裔美国人的经历，(c) 将寻求治疗作为最后手段，(d) 关于治疗的神话，(e) 与寻求治疗相关的耻辱，以及 (f) 文化上适当的应对策略。我们讨论对实践、教育和研究的影响。由爱思唯尔公司出版
Depression among older adults is a major public health concern leading to increased disability and mortality. Less than 3% of older adults utilize professional mental health services for the treatment of depression, less than any other adult age group. And despite similar rates of depression, African Americans are significantly less likely to seek, engage and be retained in professional mental health services than their white counterparts. Cultural differences in the way depression symptoms are manifested, defined, interpreted and labeled may in part explain some of these racial differences in help-seeking behaviors. Focus group methodology was utilized to identify and explore attitudes and beliefs about depression and mental health treatment utilization among 42 older African Americans who had recently suffered a major depressive episode. Thematic analysis of identified six overarching themes: (a) perceptions of depression, (b) the African American experience, (c) seeking treatment as a last resort, (d) myths about treatment, (e) stigma associated with seeking treatment and (f) culturally appropriate coping strategies. We discuss implications for practice, education and research. Published by Elsevier Inc.