Perspectives About Depression: Explanatory Models Among African-American Women

Depression is a costly illness, with broad social, economic and personal consequences. It affects many black women, yet only 7% of them receive traditional treatment. Given the chronic nature of depression and its broad impact on women's wellness, there is a need for more research examining both the conceptualization and the interpretation of depression within a socio-cultural context. This qualitative descriptive study used Kleinman's explanatory framework to capture focus group data from 14 African-American women recruited from a primary care center. Data was organized and managed with Atlas/ti 5.12, while content analysis was used to disclose the relevant themes presented in the paper.