Trial reportThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2014
Beat the Blues decreases depression in financially strained older African-American adults.
Trial report in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Financial strain measures and associations with adult health: A systematic literature review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2025Pooled it
- Calmer Life: A Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Trial for Late-life Anxiety Conducted in Low-income, Mental Health-Underserved Communities.Journal of psychiatric practice · 2017Trial
- Leveraging Aging Service Providers to Support Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Homebound Older Adults: Protocol for a Type 1 Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- A protocol for a wait list control trial of an intervention to improve pain and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older African American women.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Article
- Financial strain and depression in the U.S.: a scoping review.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Acceptability and Feasibility of a Pain and Depressive Symptoms Management Intervention in Middle-Aged and Older African American Women.Innovation in aging · 2023Article
- Improvements of Disability Outcomes in CAPABLE Older Adults Differ by Financial Strain Status.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2022Article
- Depression Treatment Status of Economically Disadvantaged African American Older Adults.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Attachment to Life: Psychometric Analyses of the Valuation of Life Scale and Differences Among Older Adults.The Gerontologist · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesFinancial strain, defined as inadequate income to cover basic needs, is related to depression in minority populations. It is unclear whether interventions can improve depression in those reporting financial strain.
designRandomized controlled trial.
settingPhiladelphia senior center.
participantsA total of 208 African-American adults 55 years of age and older with mild to severe depressive symptoms. MEASUREMENTS: Beat the Blues (BTB) depression intervention, which includes care management, referral/linkage, stress reduction, depression education, and behavioral activation. Measurements included responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, financial strain, and age.
resultsAlthough financial strain was related to depressive symptoms at baseline, participants receiving BTB at all levels of financial strain showed reduced depressive symptoms compared with a waitlist control group at 4 months. BTB participants reporting financial strain had a mean (standard deviation) decrease of 6.4 (0.85) points on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, reflecting a clinically meaningful improvement.
conclusionsThis nonpharmacologic intervention reduced depressive symptoms in both African-American subjects with and without financial strain. However, screening for and helping people manage financial strain may boost the magnitude of intervention benefit for those with financial strain and should be explored as part of depression care.
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