Disability beliefs and help-seeking behavior of depressed Chinese-American patients in a primary care setting.
In this study the authors assessed the effects of disability beliefs, conceptualization and labeling of emotional disabilities, and perceived barriers on help-seeking behaviors among depressed Chinese Americans in a primary care setting. Forty-two Chinese Americans participated in semistructured interviews using established psychological measures and open-ended questions adapted from the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue. The authors found that care utilization appears to be complicated by somatization of emotional problems, variations in causal attribution to depression, barriers to receiving mental health care, and the burden of comorbid physical conditions. Their findings highlight the importance of addressing these issues and educating patients about body-mind dialectic common to depression.
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10035, USA. kkwong@hunter.cuny.edu
Kenny
K
Kwong
Henry
H
Chung
Karen
K
Cheal
Jolene C
JC
Chou
Teddy
T
Chen
D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003210:Concept Formation; D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D013001:Somatoform Disorders; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology