Abstract
The study described here was designed to determine treatment preferences among Latinas to identify treatment options that meet their needs and increase their engagement. Focus group interviews were conducted with 22 prenatal and postpartum Latinas at risk for depression. The group interviews were conducted in Spanish and English using a standardized interview protocol. Focus group transcripts were analyzed to identify themes regarding perinatal depression coping strategies, preferred approaches to treating perinatal depression, and recommendations for engaging perinatal Latinas in treatment. The results suggest that Latinas' treatment preferences consist of a pathway (i.e., hierarchical) approach that begins with the use of one's own resources, followed by the use of formal support systems (e.g., home-visiting nurse), and supplemented with the use of behavioral therapy. Antidepressant use was judged to be acceptable only in severe cases or after delivery. The data indicate that to increase health-seeking behaviors among perinatal Latinas, practitioners should first build trust.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 232-241 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Qualitative Health Research |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2014 |
Funding
The authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with regard to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was supported by an unrestricted grant from the RAND–University of Pittsburgh Health Institute for this project. Katherine Wisner served on an advisory board for Eli Lilly Company and received a donation of estradiol and matching placebo transdermal patches from Novartis for a National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized trial. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support was received from the RAND–University of Pittsburgh Health Institute and the Magee Women’s Research Institute. Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo’s perinatal mood disorders research was supported by the National Institute of Health (MH093315, “Postdoctoral Training in Reproductive Mood Disorders”; Drs. Girdler and Rubinow, principal investigators).
Keywords
- Latino / Hispanic people
- depression
- focus groups
- mothers, mothering
- perinatal health
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
