Photo courtesy of the Joslin Latino Diabetes Initiative.

Providing care tailored to Hispanic culture significantly lessened depression among Hispanic patients with diabetes, according to a study led by an investigator from the University of Southern California School of Social Work.

The study, which followed 387 patients suffering from depression, is important because Latinos have the highest risk of diabetes in the United States.

Researchers used psycho-education to dispel treatment misconceptions, stigma and enhance therapeutic alliance. Bilingual social workers also worked directly with primary care physicans and patients to enhance care.

The study was published in the April 2010 issue of Diabetes Care. The research results have already prompted the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to hire more social workers to provide such interventions.

“We believe this trial got the attention of such a high-impact journal because this is such a disadvantaged and underserved population,” said principal investigator Kathleen Ell, the Ernest P. Larson Professor of Poverty, Ethnicity and Health at the USC School of Social Work. “They face a lot of barriers to receiving appropriate treatment–everything from language and cultural barriers to getting time off work.”

To read the USC press release about the study click here and to read the Diabetes Care article click here.