Project Summary
Depression is one of the leading causes of disability among adults. African-American (AA) men are at higher risk for a number of adverse health outcomes, including increased morbidity from health and mental disorders and a life expectancy more than 5 years lower than for men from other racial groups. However, they are less likely to be identified as well as receive guideline concordant care for depression in primary care practices. Limited research exists on understanding what perceived stressors and factors promote resiliency and may be important to address in order to improve the mental health outcomes of AA men. In 2006, Healthy African American Families (HAAF) began the Black Men’s Depression Project, a community partnered participatory research (CPPR) approach to engage AA men around the importance of good-quality care for depression, and to examine their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the causes and impact of depression in their lives. HAAF conducted 352 semi-structured interviews with AA men. Initial themes identified about the causes of depression included lack of financial resources, racism, community violence, and relationships. The impacts of depression included increased substance use, inability to find a job or go to school, and difficulty managing relationships. We concluded that strategies to engage AA men around depression should include addressing cultural, social, and economic sources of stress. Recent national events highlight the need for these strategies to be identified and implemented. We propose to develop and compare two patient-centered strategies to address depression in AA men using a CPPR approach.