Digital storytelling helps encourage Latinas to pursue treatment for depression and anxiety

A UCLA Nursing professor has found that culturally tailored multimedia content holds great promise for encouraging Latina woman seek help for, and address the symptoms of, anxiety and depression.“In my previous research, I found that Latina participants were hard-working and dedicated to their families,” said MarySue Heilemann, an associate professor at the UCLA School of Nursing, the study’s lead author. “To them, getting much-needed mental health care felt selfish and indulgent. I f it doesn’t help the family, they just won’t pursue it.”Theresearch is published in JMIR Mental Health.Heilemann focused her study on English-speaking Latinas because they report more anxiety, depression and suicide attempts than immigrants or Spanish-speaking only Latinas. To create compelling storylines that would attract her target audience, she teamed up with a Latino screenwriter-director and gathered input from focus groups of English-speaking Latina women. The resulting project is called “Catalina: Confronting My Emotions.”The videos, which were made available to participants on a password-protected website, focus on a fictional character named Catalina, a 28-year-old dealing with symptoms of depression and anxiety. The stories include drama, intrigue, tension and romance as Catalina decides whether to seek treatment. In one segment, she reflects on her experience after having a very positive session with a Latina nurse-therapist, Veronica. In other segments, Veronica spe...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news