Understand the interpretations and interventions about late life depression in Chinese and American mental health services

Abstract

China and America are countries at the different development stage of mental health services so it is likely that there would be different interpretations and intervention approaches of late life depression as definition of depression is culturally specific and is shaped in the specific social context. This study adopted the qualitative research methods to understand the definition and interpretations of late life depression between Chinese and American psychiatrists. For the purposes of deep understanding and data triangulation, there was prolong field attachment in one mental hospital in Kunming and one hospital in Los Angeles. Findings from participatory observation and in-depth individual interviews with three psychiatrists in Kunming and the equal number of psychiatrists in LA uncovered differentiation interpretations of late life depression that resulted in different hospital-based intervention approaches. The paper examines how interpretations about late life depression are shaped by subjective experiences and discourses in the social and cultural contexts of China and the States, and discuss the implications of findings to policy formulation and service development in China.