Illness beliefs of depressed Chinese American patients in primary care.
This study investigated the illness beliefs of 40 depressed Chinese Americans in a primary care setting using the Exploratory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). Twenty-two depressed Chinese Americans (76%) complained of somatic symptoms; 4 (14%) reported psychological symptoms including irritability, rumination, and poor memory. No patients reported depressed mood spontaneously. Yet, 93% endorsed depressed mood when they filled out the CBDI. Twenty-one patients (72%) did not know the name of their illness or did not consider it a diagnosable medical illness, and five patients (17%) attributed their symptoms to pre-existing medical problems. Only three patients (10%) labeled their illness as psychiatric conditions. The patients generally sought help from general hospital (69%), lay help (62%), and alternative treatment (55%) but rarely from mental health professionals (3.5%) for their depressive symptoms. The results suggest that many Chinese Americans do not consider depressed mood a symptom to report to their physicians, and many are unfamiliar with depression as a treatable psychiatric disorder.
Yeung
Albert
A
Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Chang
Doris
D
Gresham
Robert L
RL
Nierenberg
Andrew A
AA
Fava
Maurizio
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012803:Sick Role; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D013240:Stereotyping; D014481:United States