Black Men's Depression Project: Themes from a qualitative data analysis of semi-structured interviews of 352 African American regarding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the causes and impact of depression or “stress and drama”

Little is known is known about African American men's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about depression. The objective is to describe the Black Men's Depression Project, a community partnered participatory research approach to developing strategies to engage African American Men around the importance of good quality care for depression. An additional objective to is to present themes from a qualitative data analysis examining African American men's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the causes and impact of depression or “stress and drama” in their lives. Methods: Qualitative analysis was conducted with database collected by Healthy African American Families at the 2006 African Marketplace of 352 semi-structured interviews with African American men. Results: Initial themes identified about the causes of depression include: 1) lack of financial resources, 2) racism, 3) community violence, 4) relationships with women and families; regarding the impact of depression include: 1) increased substance use, 2) inability to find a job or go to school, 3) difficulty managing relationships with women and family; and on how to create resiliency against depression included: 1) church or a belief in God, 2) participating with family and children, 3) making a positive change in the community. Conclusion: Strategies to engage African American men around depression should include addressing cultural, social, and economic sources of “stress and drama”. Potential ways of framing positive outcomes for depression care may include enhancing factors associated with resiliency like family, community, and religious beliefs.