THURSDAY, Oct. 27, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- A new public education campaign to encourage Hispanic men who are depressed to seek help has been launched by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
The effort, part of the Real Men, Real Depression campaign, features Spanish-language publications and broadcast and print public service announcements about depression.
"Depression and other mood disorders cross all national, cultural, ethnic, and gender boundaries," NIMH Director Dr. Thomas R. Insel said in a prepared statement.
"NIMH developed Real Men, Real Depression to inform the nation that depression can strike men just as it can strike women," he said. "Lack of awareness about depression is a serious concern in the Latino community. Through these new materials, we hope to teach Latino men that depression is a medical condition that affects both the mind and the body, but there is hope."
"Effective treatments are available, and the success rate is very high for people who seek help and remain in treatment," Insel added.
An estimated 54 percent of Hispanic men with at least one episode of major depression in their lifetime do not recognize they have a mental health problem, according to the National Latino and Asian American study. Hispanic men also report being reluctant to get treatment, and fear that seeking treatment for depression will endanger their jobs, NIMH said.
There is no evidence to show that people lose their jobs when they seek treatment for depression. In fact, treatment may help improve work performance.
"Research and clinical findings reveal that women and men may talk differently -- or in the case of men, not talk -- about the symptoms of depression. Traditional gender roles in the Latino community may further contribute to an unwillingness to talk about feelings of depression," Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, director of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of California, Davis, said in a prepared statement.
More information
Here's where you can find out more about Real Men, Real Depression.
