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Published Online: 23 April 2024

Comparative Effectiveness of Clinician- Versus Peer-Supported Problem-Solving Therapy for Rural Older Adults With Depression

Abstract

Objective:

Self-guided and peer-supported treatments for depression among rural older adults may address some common barriers to treatment. This pilot study compared the effect on depression of peer-supported, self-guided problem-solving therapy (SG-PST) with case management problem-solving therapy (CM-PST) among older adults in rural California.

Methods:

Older adults with depression (N=105) received an introductory PST session with a clinician, followed by 11 sessions of CM-PST with a clinician (N=85) or SG-PST with a peer counselor (N=20).

Results:

Both interventions resulted in clinically significant improvement in depression by week 12. Depression scores in the CM-PST group dropped by 4.1 points more than in the SG-PST group between baseline and week 12 (95% CI=0.99–7.22, p<0.001, Hedges’s g=1.08).

Conclusions:

The results suggest that peer-supported SG-PST is a viable, acceptable option for rural older adults with depression as a second-line treatment if access to clinicians is limited.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Pages: 925 - 928
PubMed: 38650489

History

Received: 23 January 2023
Revision received: 20 January 2024
Accepted: 31 January 2024
Published online: 23 April 2024
Published in print: September 01, 2024

Keywords

  1. Peer-supported therapy, Problem-solving therapy, Senior peer counselors, Depression
  2. Rural older adults
  3. Geriatric psychiatry

Authors

Details

Brooke Hollister, Ph.D. [email protected]
Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (Hollister, Crabb); Center for Care Research South, Department of Health and Nursing Sciences, University of Agder, Agder, Norway (Hollister); Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults With Mental Illness (ALACRITY) Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle (Areán).
Rebecca Crabb, Ph.D.
Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (Hollister, Crabb); Center for Care Research South, Department of Health and Nursing Sciences, University of Agder, Agder, Norway (Hollister); Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults With Mental Illness (ALACRITY) Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle (Areán).
Patricia Areán, Ph.D.
Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (Hollister, Crabb); Center for Care Research South, Department of Health and Nursing Sciences, University of Agder, Agder, Norway (Hollister); Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults With Mental Illness (ALACRITY) Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle (Areán).

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Hollister ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

This work was supported by National Institute on Aging grant R01 AG043584.

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