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Treatment of depressive symptoms in diverse, rural, and vulnerable older adults
Author(s) -
Scogin Forrest R.,
Moss Kathryn,
Harris Grant M.,
Presnell Andrew H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.4009
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , depressive symptoms , cognition , intervention (counseling) , randomized controlled trial , clinical psychology , cognitive behavioral therapy , cognitive therapy , psychology , medicine , psychiatry , gerontology , economics , macroeconomics
Background We examined the effects of home‐delivered cognitive‐behavior therapy (CBT) on depressive symptoms among rural, diverse, and vulnerable older adults. Furthermore, we differentiated depression into its two salient aspects: psychological and somatic. Method Data came from a randomized controlled experiment of CBT on 134 individuals residing in rural Alabama. Results Cognitive‐behavior therapy resulted in significantly lower depressive symptom severity scores. When depressive symptoms were categorized as psychological or somatic, CBT was found to significantly improve the former but not the latter. Notably, there was a trend toward somatic symptom improvement. Conclusion Cognitive‐behavior therapy can be an effective treatment for depression in a hard‐to‐reach group of older adults. Home delivery affords advantages but is also an expensive delivery modality. Diverse older adults responded to the CBT intervention. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.