Adherence to Depression Treatment Among Older Patients

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This application for an NIMH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23 Award) seeks support to develop a program of research related to the treatment of depression in older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD). This application capitalizes on my background in family medicine and clinical epidemiology and proposes activities aimed at developing my ability to design, implement, and evaluate interventions directed at the treatment of depression in older primary care patients with CVD. An intervention for depression designed to address CVD comorbidity would provide a model for integration of depression treatment with care for other chronic medical conditions among older adults in the primary care setting. My knowledge of clinical family medicine, epidemiology, and biostatistics, as well as my experience of implementing a large primary care-based study provide an excellent background for development as an intervention researcher. The University of Pennsylvania offers an outstanding research environment to help accomplish the goals of this K23: (1) to study the patient characteristics that place older adults with depression and CVD at risk for nonadherence to depression treatment; (2) to obtain expertise in advanced statistical methods, e.g. structural equation models and new study designs, both of which are integral to my study of adherence in primary care settings; and, (3) to design interventions for depression among older primary care patients with CVD. In addition to educational activities, this application lays out a research plan unfolding in three phases. Phase I will examine factors associated with adherence to recommended depression therapy in older primary care patients with CVD in an NIMH-funded study designed to test the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at improving the recognition and treatment of depression (the PROSPECT study). The focus will be on how cardiovascular comorbidity, executive and cognitive functioning, beliefs about depression and its treatment, social support, and other patient-level factors are associated with adherence to depression treatment in older primary care patients. In Phase 2, semi-structured interviews of older primary care patients will explore patient concepts of depression in relation to CVD and its treatment and patient preferences for possible strategies aimed at improving adherence to depression treatment. Phase 3 will test the feasibility of a protocol for an intervention aimed at the treatment of older adults with CVD. The protocol will be based on the results from Phases 1 and 2. During Phase 4, the findings from Phases 1, 2, and 3 will guide the final development of an R01 intervention study, sketched out in the final section of this K23. This project will set the stage for the development and implementation of interventions to improve depression treatment adherence among persons with co-existing CVD.