title: Cultural beliefs and mental health treatment preferences of ethnically diverse older adult consumers in primary care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Beliefs concerning the causes of mental illness may help to explain why there are significant disparities in the rates of formal mental health service use among racial/ethnic minority elderly as compared with their white counterparts. This study applies the cultural influences on mental health framework to identify the relationship between race/ethnicity and differences in 1) beliefs on the cause of mental illness, 2) preferences for type of treatment, and 3) provider characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses were conducted using baseline data collected from participants who completed the cultural attitudes toward healthcare and mental illness questionnaire, developed for the Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the Elderly study, a multisite randomized trial for older adults (65+) with depression, anxiety, or at-risk alcohol consumption. The final sample consisted of 1,257 non-Latino whites, 536 African Americans, 112 Asian Americans, and 303 Latinos.
  
  
  RESULTS
  African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos had differing beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness when compared with non-Latino whites. Race/ethnicity was also associated with determining who makes healthcare decisions, treatment preferences, and preferred characteristics of healthcare providers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the association between race/ethnicity and health beliefs, treatment preferences, healthcare decisions, and consumers' preferred characteristics of healthcare providers. Accommodating the values and preferences of individuals can be helpful in engaging racial/ethnic minority patients in mental health services.
authors: Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging, Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire, USA. Daniel.E.Jimenez@dartmouth.edu
authors: Daniel E
authors: DE
authors: Jimenez
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Bartels
authors: Veronica
authors: V
authors: Cardenas
authors: Sanam S
authors: SS
authors: Dhaliwal
authors: Margarita
authors: M
authors: Alegría
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003469:Culture; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000208:ethnology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology