Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore Korean agency directors’ attitudes about depression treatment and their current efforts and barriers to providing services for older Korean Americans.
Methods: Interviews were conducted with 11 agency directors, providing services from ethnic community centers and health care agencies. A constant comparative approach was applied to detect emerging themes.
Results: Findings revealed that the agency directors had a negative attitude about using antidepressants and counseling. Based on these beliefs, they were less likely to recommend individuals with depression to use medical treatment or counseling; instead, they recommended informal ways of treating depression, including reliance on peers, family, and religious activities. A lack of educational training, funding, collaboration, and Korean-speaking professionals were perceived to be barriers to providing services.
Discussion: Findings indicate the importance of educational training to increase understanding of depression treatment and to support the agency directors in offering services for older Korean Americans.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.