Life patterning of men with depression

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Millicent Kaufman (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
William Cowling

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to holistically explore the life patterning of men with depression from a unitary nursing perspective. A unitary appreciative inquiry method was used to cooperatively explore depression with six men between the ages of 21 and 60. The stories that the men provided illuminated individual and group life patterning offering insights regarding the needs of men living with depression extending beyond clinical approaches. Findings suggest that men suffer with depression for years before seeking professional help, and tend to rely on primary health care providers, rather than specialists. The men in the study described unique ways that men experience depression that are gender-specific. In seeking help, the men in this study preferred solutions that were simple and rapid. Implications of this study for nursing include the need for understanding male depression as having unique characteristics that require a tailoring of approaches. Most notably, men are seeking help outside the traditional mental health care system. Nurses and other health care professionals need to attune interventions to men that provide them with an opportunity to share the non-clinical aspects of their experience. Public health education needs to be designed to emphasize that depression is not viewed as a personal flaw or weakness.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2012
Keywords
Depression, Holistic, Men, Nursing, Patterning
Subjects
Depression in men $x Treatment $v Case studies
Depression in men $x Patients $v Case studies
Depression in men $x Nursing $v Case studies

Email this document to