Health beliefs about depression among African American women.

PURPOSE A qualitative descriptive research study was conducted to explore the health beliefs of African American women and depression to improve insight regarding treatment decisions. DESIGN AND METHODS Focus group interviews were performed with purposeful sampling of 14 self-identified African American women. FINDINGS Responses and comments were sorted into five major content areas that represent the core constructs of the Health Belief Model. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Practitioners must seek to understand clients' understanding and explanations of depression to gain insight about ways to build an effective treatment alliance with clients and other practitioners.

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