On April 8, 2011 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS) issued an action plan to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. As part of its ongoing commitment to enhance health equity and eliminate disparities in behavioral health for racial and ethnic minority populations, the US DHHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) […]
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Diabetes and Depression in the Hispanic/Latino Community: The Role of Advocacy
This article briefly describes depression in the Hispanic community; the relationship between diabetes, depression, and culture; and how advocacy can play a role in addressing this problem. Nearly 12% of all Hispanics have diabetes, compared to 7.l% of non-Hispanic whites. The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is not homogeneous within subgroups of the Hispanic population, but […]
Aggression Caused by Family Violence May Lead to Substance Abuse in Adolescents
Boys who are exposed to family violence become more aggressive toward their classmates, and this behavior is linked with greater levels of substance abuse over time, according to a study published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence. The study looked at the effects of family violence, including verbal and physical aggression between siblings. The University […]
Depression Fotonovela: Development of a Depression Literacy Tool for Latinos With Limited English Proficiency
Stigma, low health literacy, lack of knowledge, and misconceptions about depression are considered pervasive barriers contributing to the disparities Latino adults with limited English proficiency (LEP) face in accessing and receiving high-quality depression care. The development of culturally and linguistically appropriate health literacy tools, such as fotonovelas, can help address these barriers to depression care […]
Community and Treatment Engagement for Depressed African American Youth: The AAKOMA FLOA Pilot
This manuscript focuses on the recruitment efforts and pilot testing of a culturally tailored motivational interviewing intervention associated with the AAKOMA Project, a 2-phase treatment engagement intervention trial for depressed African American adolescents and families. The research team used strategic community engagement as reported in other research derived from AAKOMA. For the pilot study, the […]
Engaging Depressed African American Adolescents in Treatment: Lessons From The AAKOMA Project
The authors describe and illustrate means of engaging depressed African American adolescents in treatment. Twenty-eight youth participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Using grounded theory and transcript based analysis, they derived 5 themes describing African American adolescents’ experience of depression and suggested mechanisms for improving African American youth treatment engagement. Practitioners can educate African […]