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The Effect of Travel Burden on Depression and Anxiety in African American Women Living with Systemic Lupus

Authors :
Ashley A. White
Brittany L. Smalls
Aissatou Ba
Trevor D. Faith
Viswanathan Ramakrishnan
Hetlena Johnson
Jillian Rose
Clara L. Dismuke-Greer
Jim C. Oates
Leonard E. Egede
Edith M. Williams
Source :
Healthcare, Vol 9, Iss 11, p 1507 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

The United States has a deficit of rheumatology specialists. This leads to an increased burden in accessing care for patients requiring specialized care. Given that most rheumatologists are located in urban centers at large hospitals, many lupus patients must travel long distances for routine appointments. The present work aims to determine whether travel burden is associated with increased levels of depression and anxiety among these patients. Data for this study were collected from baseline visits of patients participating in a lupus study at MUSC. A travel/economic burden survey was assessed as well as the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) survey as measures of depression and anxiety, respectively. Linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between travel burden and depression and anxiety. Frequency of healthcare visits was significantly associated with increased depression (β = 1.3, p = 0.02). Significant relationships were identified between anxiety and requiring time off from work for healthcare appointments (β = 4, p = 0.02), and anxiety and perceived difficulty in traveling to primary care providers (β = 3.1, p = 0.04). Results from this study provide evidence that travel burden can have an effect on lupus patients’ anxiety and depression levels.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22279032
Volume :
9
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Healthcare
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.26a35a71eae348168fc10c44a5b0aa69
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9111507