• M Dwight-Johnson, C D Sherbourne, D Liao, and K B Wells.
• Department of Psychiatry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif, USA. mdwight@ucla.edu
• J Gen Intern Med. 2000 Aug 1; 15 (8): 527534527-34.

ObjectiveTo understand patient factors that may affect the probability of receiving appropriate depression treatment, we examined treatment preferences and their predictors among depressed primary care patients.DesignPatient questionnaires and interviews.SettingForty-six primary care clinics in 7 geographic regions of the United States.ParticipantsOne thousand one hundred eighty-seven English- and Spanish-speaking primary care patients with current depressive symptoms.Measurements And Main ResultsDepressive symptoms and diagnoses were determined by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Treatment preferences and characteristics were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire and a telephone interview. Nine hundred eight-one (83%) patients desired treatment for depression. Those who preferred treatment were wealthier (odds ratio [OR], 3.7; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.8 to 7.9; P =.001) and had greater knowledge about antidepressant medication ( OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.4; P ConclusionsDespite low rates of treatment for depression, most depressed primary care patients desire treatment, especially counseling. Preferences for depression treatment vary by ethnicity, gender, income, and knowledge about treatments.

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