title: Depression treatment disparities among older minority home healthcare patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Determine the racial/ethnic effect on depression treatment among home healthcare patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses of administrative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  A large home healthcare agency in Bronx, NY.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients 65 years and older admitted to homecare in 2010 (N = 3,744).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2 depression screen. Other data, such as diagnosis, medications, and demographics, were collected from the patient electronic medical record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  6.52% of the sample had a depression diagnosis, 11.11% screened positive for depression (+PHQ-2), and 13.39% were prescribed antidepressants. The odds of receiving an antidepressant among those who screened positive for depression were 0.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22-0.79) for African Americans and 0.49 (95% CI: 0.26-0.93) for Hispanics compared with Caucasians.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that disparities continue to exist in depression treatment for older minority home healthcare patients compared with older Caucasians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY. Electronic address: yop2003@med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Yolonda R
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Pickett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Kisha N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Bazelais
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Martha L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bruce
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054525:Minority Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009519:New York City; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: Geriatric depression; home healthcare; race/ethnicity