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Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 14330

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Dr. Darrell Hudson

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Brown School, Washington University in Saint Louis, Campus Box 1196, 242 Goldfarb Hall, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Interests: health equity; mental health; social determinants of health; diagnosis; measurement
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Dear Colleagues,

Depression is one of the world’s leading causes of disability. While the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including loss, uncertainty, and its effects on social isolation and employment, has yet to be determined, it is likely that the incidence and burden of depression have significantly increased. Even before the pandemic, there existed underserved communities, especially with regard to mental health care. Therefore, it is even more critical to improve our understanding of depression and to improve depression care for those who are suffering. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) solicits papers for this Special Issue that focus on perceptions of depression and depression care. Papers that examine health inequities across a variety of stratification factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, and social class are of great interest. This includes, but is not limited to, studies that investigate the Black–White mental health paradox, and experiences of depression among marginalized social groups. Studies that have implemented strategies to improve access to depression care, as well as approaches to improve screening and reduce stigma, are welcome. New research papers, reviews, case reports, and conference papers are welcome for this Special Issue. Other encouraged manuscript types include methodological papers, position papers, brief reports, and commentaries.

Dr. Darrell Hudson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

depression
social determinants of health
diagnosis
measurement
race/ethnicity
socioeconomic status
behavioral healthcare access

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 252 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Understanding Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care across Culture and Context

by Darrell Hudson and Akilah Collins-Anderson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11720; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph191811720 - 17 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1585

Abstract

Depression is a leading cause of disability, affecting approximately 300 million people globally [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

10 pages, 320 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Impact of Contemporary Racism on the Mental Health of Middle Class Black Americans

by Darrell Hudson, Akilah Collins-Anderson and William Hutson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1660; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20031660 - 17 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2609

Abstract

Evidence from previous research indicates that while socioeconomic status (SES) narrows Black-White health inequities, these inequities do not completely disappear, and in some cases, worsen. Why do Black-White health inequities persist, even when controlling for SES? It is critical to examine how perceptions of unfair treatment, especially those that are nuanced and subtle, affect the mental health of Black Americans with greater levels of SES. This study, using a new sample composed exclusively of college-educated Black Americans, investigated whether experiences related to racism were associated with poorer mental health. Qualtrics provided the sample from their nationwide panelists that met the research criteria. Inclusion criteria included the following: (1) self-identified as Black or African American; (2) at least 24 years old; (3) completed a 4-year college degree or higher. The findings from this study indicated that the effects of unfair treatment are significantly associated with poorer mental health. These findings highlight the insidious nature of contemporary racism as the everyday experiences of unfair treatment have a tremendous effect on depressive symptoms among this sample of college-educated Black Americans. Efforts to simply improve SES among historically marginalized groups will not bring about health equity. Findings from this study indicate that there are mental health costs associated with upward social mobility. It is likely that these costs, particularly the experience of everyday unfair treatment, likely diminish the social, economic and health returns on the human capital. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

26 pages, 412 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Barriers and Facilitating Factors of Adherence to Antidepressant Treatments: An Exploratory Qualitative Study with Patients and Psychiatrists

by Beatriz González de León, Analía Abt-Sacks, Francisco Javier Acosta Artiles, Tasmania del Pino-Sedeño, Vanesa Ramos-García, Cristobalina Rodríguez Álvarez, Daniel Bejarano-Quisoboni and María M. Trujillo-Martín

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16788; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192416788 - 14 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

This study examines the experiences and expectations of patients with depressive disorders regarding the disease and different antidepressants, as well as examining the barriers and facilitating factors that could affect their adherence to medications. An exploratory qualitative study was carried out. The study involved two focus groups made up of patients and caregivers and six semi-structured interviews with psychiatrists. In both cases, the participants were selected by intentional theoretical sampling, seeking maximum significance variation of social types. Prejudice about the side effects of medication was relevant. The importance of patients being well informed about the disease/treatments was noteworthy. The stigmatization of antidepressants by patients was identified as a barrier to medication adherence. The involvement of family members and the motivation of patients to be actively involved in the process to recover from the disease were identified as facilitating factors. The work carried out suggests the need for patients to have rigorous information about the disease/treatment to reduce the possible prejudices generated by beliefs. Maintaining greater contact and monitoring of patients/caregivers to help therapeutic adherence in patients with depressive disorders was also identified as being of great importance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

8 pages, 317 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Suicide Ideation in Patients with Depression

by Yi-Hsuan Chiang, Yu-Chin Ma, Yu-Chuan Lin, Jin-Ling Jiang, Mei-Hui Wu and Kuo-Cheng Chiang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14492; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192114492 - 04 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1531

Abstract

The relationship between suicide and rumination in depression is a recent topic of attention in mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between demographic variables, depressive symptoms, rumination, and suicide ideation in patients with depression, as well as the predictors of suicide ideation. Research design: A cross-sectional study of 95 subjects with depression recruited intentionally from the psychiatric ward of Tzu Chi Hospital. The questionnaire included demographic data, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Ruminative Response Scale, and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Independent sample t-test, Pearson product difference correlation, and the stepwise regression test were adopted for data analysis. Results: Age (r = −0.41, p < 0.01), age at diagnosis (r = −0.34, p < 0.01), and sleep duration (r = −0.25, p < 0.05) were negatively correlated with rumination–reflection. The depressive symptoms (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) were positively correlated with rumination, whereas rumination (r = 0.57, p < 0.01) and suicide ideation were positively correlated. Depressive symptoms and rumination could predict suicide ideation, and the effective explanatory power reached 60%. Conclusions: If the patient with depression was younger or the patient was diagnosed at a younger age, the depressive symptoms of the reflection subscale of rumination thinking and suicide ideation were more serious. Our results indicate that clinicians who care for patients with depression should be aware of rumination and its impact on suicide ideation, specifically in younger patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

16 pages, 1013 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Prevalence of Depression Symptoms and Their Socioeconomic and Health Predictors in a Local Community with a High Deprivation: A Cross-Sectional Studies

by Maciej Polak, Grzegorz Józef Nowicki, Katarzyna Naylor, Robert Piekarski and Barbara Ślusarska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11797; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph191811797 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1966

Abstract

Depression is a heterogeneous and etiologically complex psychiatric syndrome thatshows a strong sexual dimorphism and often impacts people with a low socioeconomic status (SES). The aim of the study was to estimate the occurrence of depression symptoms in a local community with a high deprivation rate, the example being the inhabitants of the JanówLubelski County in eastern Poland. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 3752 people aged between 35 and 64. The prevalence of depression symptoms was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale. In the screening for depression symptoms in the entire population we studied, the risk of depression symptoms was 16.1% (n = 605), with women having a significantly higher mean score than men (p < 0.001). Significant predictors associated with the achievement of 10 points and more in the PHQ-9 assessment in the case of women and men were: living alone, education and having comorbidities. Moreover, female participants living in rural areas were significantly more likely to exhibit depression symptoms, whereas smoking was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms in men. It was observed that in the case of obese women, the chance of being in the higher category of the PHQ-9 assessment was 1.41 times higher than in women with normal body weight. However, in the case of men, an increase in age by one year increased the chance of being in a higher category by 1.02 times. Moreover, the odds of falling into a higher category, as assessed by the PHQ-9 questionnaire, among men who drink alcohol more than once a week was 1.7 times higher than in men who do not drink or consume alcohol occasionally. Summarising the results of studies conducted in a local community characterised by a high deprivation rate, socioeconomic and health variables related to SES significantly impacted the incidence of depression, but they differ in terms of gender. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

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26 pages, 5494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Network and Exploratory Factorial Analysis of the Depression Clinical Evaluation Test

by María Guillot-Valdés, Alejandro Guillén-Riquelme, Juan Carlos Sierra and Gualberto Buela-Casal

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10788; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph191710788 - 30 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1749

Abstract

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder with a wide range of symptomatology. Existing instruments for its assessment have only a few items for each factor. The Depression Clinical Evaluation Test (DCET) has been created to cover all depression symptoms at different times (month, year, and always) with several items for each facet. The content validity of this instrument has been judged by experts and, in this paper, we analyse its factorial structure and make a network analysis of it. The test (196 items) was administered to 602 adults without psychological disorders (M_age = 24.7, SD = 8.38, 72% women) both online and on paper. A network was estimated for each time point, using the absolute minimum selection and shrinkage operator. From the factor analysis, 12 factors were established for month, 11 for year, and 10 for always, leaving 94 items. The network analysis showed that the facets of depressive mood, anhedonia, and thoughts of Death, are central to all the estimated networks. The DCET is proposed as a valid and reliable multifactorial instrument to detect the variability of depressive symptoms in adults, guaranteeing its diagnostic usefulness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

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14 pages, 672 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Life Satisfaction on Depression among Childless Married Couples: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Ju-Young Ha and Hyo-Jin Park

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(4), 2055; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19042055 - 12 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2175

Abstract

Depression among childless middle-aged and elderly people is a serious social problem in Korea. However, few studies examine the influence of life satisfaction on the depression of spouses as actors and partners. Hence, this study analyzes the influence of life satisfaction (a positive factor childless married couples may have) on depression. This cross-sectional study employed data on couples to analyze the effect of life satisfaction on the depression of childless married couples as actors and partners via the actor–partner interdependence model. The Korea Longitudinal Study of Aging was employed to investigate life satisfaction and depression among 207 childless middle-aged and elderly couples. Regarding actor effects, wives’ (β = −0.285, p = 0.004) and husbands’ (β = −0.403, p < 0.001) life satisfaction significantly affected individual depression. Regarding partner effects, husbands’ life satisfaction (β = −0.255, p = 0.011) significantly affected wives’ depression, and the wives’ life satisfaction (β = −0.375, p < 0.001) significantly affected husbands’ depression. A childless actor’s life satisfaction affected own and partner’s depression. Thus, spouses should work together to improve their life satisfaction, thereby improving their depression. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Depression and Depression Care)

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