Feature: August/September 2013

Adherence Barriers to Antidepressants among an Urban Female Latino Population:

By Jessica Hallerman Price, MD Candidate (2014), George Washington University School of Medicine

Lack of adherence to antidepressant medication has been well documented as a major difficulty in the successful treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. While this has been a challenge across patient populations, it has been especially pronounced among the U.S. Latino population, which shows a rate of non-adherence almost 40% higher than the rate seen in the U.S. Caucasian population. In some studies, the rate of non-adherence ranges between 31% and 44% among Latinos (Lanouette et al., 2009).

A number of studies have focused on identifying risk factors for the low rates of adherence, but few have gone beyond theoretical barriers to incorporate insights from patients and health care professionals about intervention strategies. The author of this article interviewed patients, care providers, and other health care staff about this topic at a community health center in Seattle, WA to gain insight into the possible causes of decreased adherence to antidepressant medications among the urban Latino population in Seattle, WA, as well as to explore resource and intervention strategies to address those barriers.  Read article...

Recent Features: 

Pre-travel Counseling for Persons Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFRs)

Providers who care for the medical needs of immigrant and refugee patients are familiar with their inevitable decision to return home for a visit. For many, this return is a momentous event. They may have left in terror, to only now return in safety for a long-imagined reunion.The exposures many risk upon return are sometimes minimized as patients may not realize that years later their health cannot tolerate the insults to their immune system they might have weathered back home in their youth. Others will want whatever treatment they can get but not realize the expenses may not be covered by Medicaid or their insurance. 

This article, authored by International Medicine Clinic's Medical Director, Dr. Carey Jackson, offers useful tips and guidelines as you discuss issues with traveling patients.  Considerations include the significance of the occasion for the patient, the decisions to immunize, prophylax, or treat when symptoms arise, with calculations based on the duration of the trip, geographic areas and seasonal prevalence of disease, settings to be visited, and the condition and co-morbidities of the traveler. The article includes links to guidance provided by Public Health Seattle & King County and the CDC.  Read more...

Summer Spotlight

Summer safety issues include sun exposure, water safety concerns, and use of fireworks or concern about fire. Here are a few Summer Resources to keep kids safe and healthy:

MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine):  Child safety resources in multiple languages

Healthy Roads Media:  Emergency topics (blackouts, firesafety, flash flooding, etc) in mulitple languages and formats.

Seattle Children's Hospital & Medical Center:  Many safety and injury prevention topics

Summer Feeding Progam:  The USDA wants to expand summer feeding program for low-income children by reimbursing organizations that serve children meals at feeding sites during summer months. 

Summer Learning:  1 page of summer learning activities, and other parenting topics, available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, Vietnamese.  From Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools

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