A Helping Hand Among Low-Income Patients

Depression, Diabetes, Heart Disease

community health worker, promotoras, self-care behaviors activation, depression, low-income patients, safety-net care

Study Hypotheses (Ho) and Research Questions (RQ): * Ho1. AHH will significantly improve patient depression treatment acceptance/adherence and depression symptoms vs UC at 6 and 12 months post-baseline. * Ho2. A Helping Hand (AHH) will significantly improve and sustain patient self-care management in Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease (SEMCD) and Quality of Life vs UC at 6 and 12 months post-baseline. * RQ1. What is the association between depression symptoms and concurrent chronic illness self-care management over time by group? * RQ2. Will AHH reduce hospitalizations and Emergency Room visits and improve clinic appointment-keeping? * RQ3. Will patient care satisfaction and reported barriers to self-care management vary by study group? * RQ4. What factors are identified via qualitative assessments of patients, promotoras, Department of Health Services (DHS) medical and social work providers, and DHS clinic/organizational leadership regarding satisfaction with, sustainable uptake of, and suggested modifications of the AHH promotora delivery model? * RQ5. What potential technology applications would enhance promotoras delivering patient-centered self-care training and resource navigation, communicating and integrating care with DHS, and disseminating AHH?

Major depression, plus other chronic illness such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and heart failure is common among low-income, culturally diverse safety net care patients. Unfortunately, many of these patients are uncomfortable about either asking their doctor questions about their illness and treatment options and their illness self-care or informing their doctors about their treatment preferences. Lack of strong engagement with medical providers occurs because patients believe they lack the knowledge to ask questions or to understand and follow recommended self-care and their concern that their medical provider lacks understanding of their treatment preferences. These factors often result in patient worry, poor adherence to prescribed treatment, and worsening illness status and even early death. The study will be conducted by a university, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) and a community health worker organization research team. The study will be conducted within two DHS Patient-Centered Medical Home clinics, with each patient having a designated primary care team of physician, nurse, social worker and medical assistant. Study patients with major depression and other illnesses face numerous self-care management barriers: managing concurrent symptoms (depression, pain, anxiety etc.) and cultural influences (depression stigma, diet), difficulty in navigating primary and specialty doctor and treatment plans, while at the same time experiencing daily social and economic stress. The randomized comparative effectiveness study plans to recruit 350 patients with major depression and a concurrent chronic illness (i.e., diabetes, heart failure, coronary heart disease) from two DHS PCMH community health centers. To enhance patient-centered research community partnerships, patients will be provided A Helping Hand (AHH) in which a community organization- based promotora aims to activate patient-centered depression self-care training and practical assistance to: a) improve and personalize major depression self-care (e.g., medication or psychotherapy preference, treatment adherence, fatigue, pain, diet, activity, stress management, family/caregiver communication); b) activate patient-provider communication, clinic appointment keeping and treatment coordination; and c) and facilitate patient navigation and receipt of needed community resources. AHH aims to improve patient self-care management and patient-provider care management relationships among underserved low-income patients, who must simultaneously cope with major depression and chronic co-morbid physical illness. Study objectives aim to determine: 1) whether community health worker promotora care management training improves patient-centered outcomes, such as self-care need and management, treatment adherence, symptom improvement, and care satisfaction over the usual team care; 2) depression symptom improvement; and 3) patient hospitalizations and ER visits frequency.

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