Depression Treatment Disparities Among Older Minority Home Healthcare Patients

Objective: Determine the racial/ethnic effect on depression treatment among home healthcare patients. Design: Cross-sectional analyses of administrative data. Setting: A large home healthcare agency in Bronx, NY. Participants: Patients 65 years and older admitted to homecare in 2010 (N = 3,744). Measurements: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2 depression screen. Other data, such as diagnosis, medications, and demographics, were collected from the patient electronic medical record. Results: 6.52% of the sample had a depression diagnosis, 11.11% screened positive for depression (+PHQ-2), and 13.39% were prescribed antidepressants. The odds of receiving an antidepressant among those who screened positive for depression were 0.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22-0.79) for African Americans and 0.49 (95% CI: 0.26-0.93) for Hispanics compared with Caucasians. Conclusions: These findings suggest that disparities continue to exist in depression treatment for older minority home healthcare patients compared with older Caucasians.