Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Beat the Blues: A Tailored Depression Intervention for African American Older Adults

African American older adults are at greater risk of depression due to the higher incidence of chronic health conditions, associated functional impairments and greater social and environmental stressors. Disparities and unequal access to culturally relevant depression treatments are documented consistently for older African Americans, as well as feelings of stigma and reluctance to accept frequently used depression treatments-in particular pharmacologic and/or psychosocial therapy delivered in community mental health settings.