African Americans are burdened by depression, yet they receive adequate mental health care only 14% of the time. A recent meta-analysis of culturally adapted interventions (CAI) suggest interventions tailored to a specific cultural group were four times more effective than interventions provided to groups consisting of culturally diverse patients. Unfortunately, CAIs focusing specifically on African American adults are sparse. The Oh Happy Day Class (OHDC) was culturally adapted from the Coping with Depression Course (CWD) and designed to treat depression in African American adults. We propose using a two-group, (OHDC v. CWD) randomized controlled trial and a sample of 182 African American adults (age 30-55) with measures at baseline, middle and immediate end of the intervention and 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months post-intervention. Primary Aim 1: Examine effectiveness of the OHDC compared to the CWD in increasing retention, adherence, engagement, satisfaction, and treatment seeking. Primary Aim 2: Examine effectiveness of the OHDC compared to the CWD in reducing symptoms of depression. Secondary Aim 3: Examine the effectiveness of the OHDC compared to the CWD in improving self-report of mental and physical health status and reducing self-report of disability. Public Health Impact: Based on CAI research, the OHDC has the potential to be four times more effective than the CWD. If our hypotheses are proven, the OHDC will be the first evidence-based culturally adapted depression intervention designed specifically for African American adults.
African Americans are burdened by depression, yet they receive adequate mental health care only 14% of the time. However, a recent meta-analysis of culturally adapted interventions (CAI) suggest interventions tailored to a specific cultural group were four times more effective than interventions provided to groups consisting of culturally diverse patients. Unfortunately, CAIs focusing specifically on African American adults are sparse. The Oh Happy Day Class (OHDC) was culturally adapted from the Coping with Depression Course (CWD) and designed to treat depression in African American adults. We propose using a two-group, (OHDC v. CWD) randomized controlled trial and a sample of 182 African American adults (age 30-55) in Wisconsin. Based on CAI research, the OHDC has the potential to be four times more effective than the CWD. If our hypotheses are proven, the OHDC will be the first evidence-based culturally adapted depression intervention designed specifically for African American adults.
