L J Cabassa
Biographic Data
| ID | 11090 |
|---|---|
| NAME | L J Cabassa |
| GIVEN NAMES | L J |
| FAMILY NAME | Cabassa |
| SIGNATURE | CABASSA L J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Washington University in St. Louis |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1872-4141 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 52 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 278 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 52 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Exploring the barriers and facilitators to safer hair product purchasing and use among Black women in the greater Boston area through photovoice in the Restyle study
Introduction: Racial/ethnic differences in personal care product (PCP) use, including hair products, are well-documented in the United States (US). Black women are more highly exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals in PCPs compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We identified barriers and facilitators to safer hair product purchasing and use in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area. Methods: Twenty-one Black women were recruited through commu…
Mental health service use among Filipino American and Korean American young adults during the Covid‐19 pandemic
Despite the heightened mental health challenges amid rising Anti‐Asian sentiment, Asian Americans have significantly underutilized mental health services, a trend that persisted even before the COVID‐19 pandemic. Although considerable efforts have been made to understand how various factors are related to mental health service use in this population, research integrating these multiple factors in a single study, with a specific focus on ethnic di…
Shrinking the know-do gap in psychedelic-assisted therapy
The Impact of Tobacco Use on Weight Loss During a Peer-Led Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for People With Serious Mental Illness Living in Permanent Supportive Housing
Purpose: Over 50% of people with serious mental illness (SMI) smoke cigarettes. This study evaluated whether tobacco use impacted weight loss outcomes during a peer-led healthy lifestyle intervention (PGLB) for people with SMI living in permanent supportive housing (PSH). Method: Data from an effectiveness trial of PGLB examined whether baseline tobacco use moderated the effectiveness of the intervention compared to usual care (UC) in helping par…
Examining Place-Based Neighborhood Factors in a Multisite Peer-Led Healthy Lifestyle Effectiveness Trial for People with Serious Mental Illness
People with severe mental illness (SMI) experience significantly higher obesity-related comorbidities and premature mortality rates than healthy populations. The physical and social characteristics of neighborhoods where people with SMI reside can play an important role in promoting or hindering healthy eating and physical activity. However, this is seldom considered when designing and testing health behavior interventions for these populations. …
Correlates of Stigma Toward Mental Health Service Use Among Filipino Americans and Korean Americans
Impact of Moderating Demographic Variables on a Health Intervention for People with Serious Mental Illness
These findings suggest the impact of healthy lifestyle interventions for people with SMI may not be uniform and adaptations may be needed to make these interventions responsive to the needs of diverse populations
Learning, doing and sticking with it: A qualitative study on achieving clinically significant reduction in cardiovascular disease risk in a healthy lifestyle intervention for people with serious menta…
People with serious mental illness (SMI; e.g. schizophrenia) have mortality rates two to three times higher than the general population, largely due to a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Healthy lifestyle interventions can improve the health of people with SMI, but information about why these interventions work for some and not others is scarce. Our study aims to qualitatively explore differences in these two groups' overall exp…
Getting the Staff to Understand It: ” Leadership Perspectives on Peer Specialists Before and After the Implementation of a Peer-Delivered Healthy Lifestyle Intervention
Everything Changed, Would You Like Me to Elaborate?”: A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Community Participation Among Young Adults with Early Psychosis and Their Fami…
OnTrackNY provides early intervention services to young people with early psychosis throughout New York State. This report describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community participation of OnTrackNY program participants and their families. Thirteen participants and nine family members participated in five focus groups and three individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a summary template and matrix analysis approac…
‘It’s common sense that an individual must eat’: Advocating for food justice with people with psychiatric disabilities through photovoice
BACKGROUND: People with SMI have often been excluded in advocacy efforts focused on physical health, health care and health and social policy. OBJECTIVE: Following a Photovoice project focused on barriers to healthy eating and physical activity in urban neighbourhoods, participant-researchers were invited to present their insights in community advocacy settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and participant-researchers'…
Effectiveness of mental health literacy and stigma interventions for Latino/a adults in the United States: A systematic review
Latinos/as in the United States (U.S.), face persistent mental health care disparities, even after adjusting for education, health insurance, and socioeconomic factors. While there has been increased attention on mental health stigma and mental health literacy, no systematic literature review currently exists of interventions developed to reduce mental health stigma and improve mental health literacy in the Latino/a community. This review aimed t…
Psychometric Properties of Three Measures of Stigma Among Hispanics with Depression
Disaggregation of Latina/o Child and Adult Health Data: A Systematic Review of Public Health Surveillance Surveys in the United States
Correlates of Attendance in a Peer-Led Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for People with Serious Mental Illness Living in Supportive Housing
We Die 25 Years Sooner: ” Addressing Physical Health Among Persons with Serious Mental Illness in Supportive Housing
Reframing implementation science to address inequities in healthcare delivery
Qualitative Study of Nami Homefront Family Support Program
Correlates of Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Racially and Ethnically Diverse People with Serious Mental Illness in Supportive Housing
Including culture in programs to reduce stigma toward people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries
Stigma is one of the main barriers for the full implementation of mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recently, many initiatives to reduce stigma have been launched in these settings. Nevertheless, the extent to which these interventions are effective and culturally sensitive remains largely unknown. The present review addresses these two issues by conducting a comprehensive evaluation of interventions to reduce st…
“Treated me … like I was family”: Qualitative Evaluation of a Culturally-Adapted Health Care Manager Intervention for Latinos with Serious Mental Illness and at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
Latinos with serious mental illness (SMI) experience health and health care disparities and may benefit from interventions that improve access to, coordination of, and receipt of primary care services. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of Latinos with SMI and at risk for cardiovascular disease participating in Bridges to Better Health and Wellness (B2BHW), a culturally-adapted health care manager intervention delive…
Realizing the Truth to Help Others: A Photovoice Investigation of Barriers to Healthy Living in People with Serious Mental Illness
Reaching for a Healthier Lifestyle:A Photovoice Investigation of Barriers to Healthy Living in People with Serious Mental Illness Lara Carson Weinstein, MD, MPH, DrPH, Mariana Chilton, PhD, MPH, Renee Turchi, MD, MPH, Ann Klassen, PhD, Marianna LaNoue, PhD, Stephan Lamar, Sandra Yorgey, Lois Kramer, Irwin Smith, and Leopoldo Cabassa, MSW, PhD What Is the Purpose of this Study? • To investigate social and structural factors that affect weight loss…
Reaching for a Healthier Lifestyle: A Photovoice Investigation of Healthy Living in People with Serious Mental Illness
Co-researchers highlighted structural barriers that were a cause or consequence of food insecurity and situations that threaten the right to healthy food and opportunities for a healthy life. Co-researchers reported examples of knowledge and skills they learned through participation in the project that were used to overcome structural barriers to healthy eating and physical activity, and likely contributed to weight loss
What We Have in Common”: A Qualitative Analysis of Shared Experience in Peer-Delivered Services
Cultural adaptation and implementation of evidence-based parent-training: A systematic review and critique of guiding evidence
Measuring Acculturation: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go
Acculturation measures intend to capture the psychological, behavioral, and attitudinal changes that occur when individuals and groups from different cultures come into continuous contact with each other. This article examines the most prominent theoretical models and assumptions that drive acculturation measures. Examples of Hispanic acculturation measures are used to illustrate how these theoretical foundations are applied in empirical measures…
Capacity-to-Consent in Psychiatric Research: Development and Preliminary Testing of a Screening Tool
Objective: Assuring research participants’capacity to provide informed consent has become increasingly important in health and mental health research, and each study faces unique capacity-assessment challenges, possibly requiring its own screening tool. This article describes the development and preliminary testing of a capacity-to-consent tool constructed for a study of psychiatric diagnosing in a community clinic. Method: A 10-item screening de…
Azúcar y nervios: Explanatory models and treatment experiences of Hispanics with diabetes and depression
Permanent Supportive Housing: Addressing Homelessness and Health Disparities
Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is an intervention to address long-term homelessness. Evidence has resulted in a shift in US policy toward using PSH rather than shelters and transitional housing. Despite recognizing that individuals transitioning from homelessness to PSH experience a high burden of disease and health disparities, public health research has not considered whether and how PSH improves physical health outcomes. Based on diverse a…
Health and Wellness Photovoice Project: Engaging Consumers With Serious Mental Illness in Health Care Interventions
People with serious mental illnesses (SMI) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. We used photovoice in two supportive housing agencies to engage consumers with SMI to inform the implementation of health care interventions. Sixteen consumers participated in six weekly sessions in which they took photographs about their health and discussed the meanings of these photographs in individual interviews and group sess…
Quality of Care: Expanding the Social Work Dialogue
For social work practitioners to engage fully in efforts designed to improve the quality of social services, they need to understand what is meant by quality of care, grapple with its complexity, and know how to identify and leverage the key factors most likely to influence it. This article introduces a conceptual model that articulates numerous influences on the quality of social services. It details the macrosystem, consumer, advocacy, organiza…
Toward a cultural adaptation of pharmacotherapy: Latino views of depression and antidepressant therapy
Relative to non-Latino Whites, Latinos in the United States with major depressive disorder (MDD) show low engagement in antidepressant therapy, whether engagement is defined as pharmacotherapy access, medication initiation, pill-taking, or treatment retention. One potential reason for this disparity in depression care is the low cultural congruence of pharmacotherapy for this population. To examine Latinos' views of depression and antidepressant …
Latino Immigrant Men's Perceptions of Depression and Attitudes Toward Help Seeking
Perceptions of depression, attitudes toward depression treatments, help-seeking preferences, and perceived barriers to care were examined in a sample of 56 Latino immigrant men recruited from a primary health care clinic. Each participant was presented a vignette depicting an individual with major depression. Men described the vignette as a debilitating condition caused by social stressors that would improve with time. Men preferred counseling ov…
Quality of Care in the Social Services: Research Agenda and Methods
In an era of heightened accountability, remarkably little is known empirically about the quality of social work services. This article applies insights from health services research to propose a research agenda on the quality of care in the social services. The agenda calls for studies that address the definition of quality service, variations in quality, the relationship between quality service and outcomes, structural influences on quality, and…
Including culture in programs to reduce stigma toward people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries
Stigma is one of the main barriers for the full implementation of mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recently, many initiatives to reduce stigma have been launched in these settings. Nevertheless, the extent to which these interventions are effective and culturally sensitive remains largely unknown. The present review addresses these two issues by conducting a comprehensive evaluation of interventions to reduce st…
What We Have in Common”: A Qualitative Analysis of Shared Experience in Peer-Delivered Services
Contextual Factors in the Health of People With Serious Mental Illness
People living with serious mental illness (SMI) have shorter life expectancies than the general population. We examined how contextual factors influence the physical health of this population. We conducted interviews, focus groups, and participant observations with stakeholders from six behavioral health organizations. We found that consumers' avoidance of overt disagreement during medical visits, their mistrust of medical institutions, and cultu…
Measuring Latinos' perceptions of depression: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Illness Perception Questionnaire
This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire adapted for a clinical sample of low-income Latinos suffering from depression. Participants (N = 339) were recruited from public primary care centers. Their average age was 49.73 years and the majority was foreign born females of either Mexican or Central American descent. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structure of this measu…
Everything Changed, Would You Like Me to Elaborate?”: A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Community Participation Among Young Adults with Early Psychosis and Their Fami…
OnTrackNY provides early intervention services to young people with early psychosis throughout New York State. This report describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community participation of OnTrackNY program participants and their families. Thirteen participants and nine family members participated in five focus groups and three individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a summary template and matrix analysis approac…
We Die 25 Years Sooner: ” Addressing Physical Health Among Persons with Serious Mental Illness in Supportive Housing
Reaching for a Healthier Lifestyle: A Photovoice Investigation of Healthy Living in People with Serious Mental Illness
Co-researchers highlighted structural barriers that were a cause or consequence of food insecurity and situations that threaten the right to healthy food and opportunities for a healthy life. Co-researchers reported examples of knowledge and skills they learned through participation in the project that were used to overcome structural barriers to healthy eating and physical activity, and likely contributed to weight loss
Diagnostic, Symptom, and Functional Assessments of Hispanic Outpatients in Community Mental Health Practice
Integrating Cross-Cultural Psychiatry Into the Study of Mental Health Disparities
Snowden’s article in the February issue of the Journal presents a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the role that practitioners’ bias plays in the development of racial and ethnic disparities in the current mental health system. Missing from this review is the growing literature that directly examines the role that culture plays in the expression, presentation, and course of mental illnesses
Getting the Staff to Understand It: ” Leadership Perspectives on Peer Specialists Before and After the Implementation of a Peer-Delivered Healthy Lifestyle Intervention
Correlates of Attendance in a Peer-Led Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for People with Serious Mental Illness Living in Supportive Housing
Correlates of Physical Activity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Racially and Ethnically Diverse People with Serious Mental Illness in Supportive Housing
Child Welfare Caregivers of Differing English-Language Use: Perceptions of Pediatric Health Care Access Barriers
The purpose of this study was to explore child welfare caregivers' perceptions of health care access barriers and pediatric health care use for children under their care. The caregivers have different levels of English-language use. A cross-sectional sample of 237 parents was interviewed at a child welfare pediatric clinic in Los Angeles, California. Non-English-speaking parents utilized pediatric health services for their children as often as En…
Clinician-Patient Ethnicity in Psychiatric Diagnosis: A Pilot Study with Hispanics
Language and ethnicity are parts of the interpersonal process that converge during psychiatric diagnosis, affecting diagnostic accuracy and concordance among clinicians. In this feasibility study, the authors videotaped two Hispanic psychiatrists conducting typical diagnostic interviews with first-time Hispanic patients (N = 10) in a community mental health clinic. Then, two non-Hispanic psychiatrists viewed the videotapes with translator assista…
Integrating Cross-Cultural Psychiatry Into the Study of Mental Health Disparities
Snowden’s article in the February issue of the Journal presents a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the role that practitioners’ bias plays in the development of racial and ethnic disparities in the current mental health system. Missing from this review is the growing literature that directly examines the role that culture plays in the expression, presentation, and course of mental illnesses
Measuring Acculturation: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go
Acculturation measures intend to capture the psychological, behavioral, and attitudinal changes that occur when individuals and groups from different cultures come into continuous contact with each other. This article examines the most prominent theoretical models and assumptions that drive acculturation measures. Examples of Hispanic acculturation measures are used to illustrate how these theoretical foundations are applied in empirical measures…
Building a Model to Understand Youth Service Access: The Gateway Provider Model
Quality of Care in the Social Services: Research Agenda and Methods
In an era of heightened accountability, remarkably little is known empirically about the quality of social work services. This article applies insights from health services research to propose a research agenda on the quality of care in the social services. The agenda calls for studies that address the definition of quality service, variations in quality, the relationship between quality service and outcomes, structural influences on quality, and…
Clinician-Patient Ethnicity in Psychiatric Diagnosis: A Pilot Study with Hispanics
Language and ethnicity are parts of the interpersonal process that converge during psychiatric diagnosis, affecting diagnostic accuracy and concordance among clinicians. In this feasibility study, the authors videotaped two Hispanic psychiatrists conducting typical diagnostic interviews with first-time Hispanic patients (N = 10) in a community mental health clinic. Then, two non-Hispanic psychiatrists viewed the videotapes with translator assista…
Capacity-to-Consent in Psychiatric Research: Development and Preliminary Testing of a Screening Tool
Objective: Assuring research participants’capacity to provide informed consent has become increasingly important in health and mental health research, and each study faces unique capacity-assessment challenges, possibly requiring its own screening tool. This article describes the development and preliminary testing of a capacity-to-consent tool constructed for a study of psychiatric diagnosing in a community clinic. Method: A 10-item screening de…
Why Do So Many Latina Teens Attempt Suicide? A Conceptual Model for Research
Rates of suicide attempts among adolescent Latinas have been reported to be higher than for their non-Hispanic counterparts. Yet researchers know very little about the attempts, their antecedents, and why the girls attempt suicide. Latina girls have been included in research on suicidal adolescents and typically show higher rates of attempts relative to similar psychopathology when compared with other young women. A few small studies have focused…
Latino Adults’ Access to Mental Health Care: A Review of Epidemiological Studies
A Systematic Review of Depression Treatments in Primary Care for Latino Adults
Objective: A systematic literature review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing depression treatments in primary care for Latinos is conducted. The authors rate the methodological quality of studies, examine cultural and linguistic adaptations, summarize clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness findings, and draw conclusions for improving depression care among this diverse population. Method: Electronic bibliographic databases, Web sites…
Quality of Care: Expanding the Social Work Dialogue
For social work practitioners to engage fully in efforts designed to improve the quality of social services, they need to understand what is meant by quality of care, grapple with its complexity, and know how to identify and leverage the key factors most likely to influence it. This article introduces a conceptual model that articulates numerous influences on the quality of social services. It details the macrosystem, consumer, advocacy, organiza…
Latino immigrants' intentions to seek depression care
This study examined the role that illness perceptions, attitudes toward depression treatments, and subjective norms played in Latino immigrants' intentions to seek depression care. Ninety-five Latino immigrant patients were presented a vignette depicting an individual with major depression and interviewed about their intentions to seek care if confronted with a similar situation. Patients' preferences were to rely on informal sources of care firs…
Latino Immigrant Men's Perceptions of Depression and Attitudes Toward Help Seeking
Perceptions of depression, attitudes toward depression treatments, help-seeking preferences, and perceived barriers to care were examined in a sample of 56 Latino immigrant men recruited from a primary health care clinic. Each participant was presented a vignette depicting an individual with major depression. Men described the vignette as a debilitating condition caused by social stressors that would improve with time. Men preferred counseling ov…
Measuring Latinos' perceptions of depression: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Illness Perception Questionnaire
This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire adapted for a clinical sample of low-income Latinos suffering from depression. Participants (N = 339) were recruited from public primary care centers. Their average age was 49.73 years and the majority was foreign born females of either Mexican or Central American descent. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structure of this measu…
Diagnostic, Symptom, and Functional Assessments of Hispanic Outpatients in Community Mental Health Practice
Azúcar y nervios: Explanatory models and treatment experiences of Hispanics with diabetes and depression
Acculturation, Familism and Mother–Daughter Relations Among Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Adolescent Latinas
Child Welfare Caregivers of Differing English-Language Use: Perceptions of Pediatric Health Care Access Barriers
The purpose of this study was to explore child welfare caregivers' perceptions of health care access barriers and pediatric health care use for children under their care. The caregivers have different levels of English-language use. A cross-sectional sample of 237 parents was interviewed at a child welfare pediatric clinic in Los Angeles, California. Non-English-speaking parents utilized pediatric health services for their children as often as En…
Patterns of distress, precipitating events, and reflections on suicide attempts by young Latinas
Pathways to Depression Care: Help-Seeking Experiences of Low-Income Latinos with Diabetes and Depression
Evaluation of a Fotonovela to Increase Depression Knowledge and Reduce Stigma Among Hispanic Adults
Public Stigma of Mental Illness in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review
Socio-Environmental Risks for Untreated Depression Among Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men
Permanent Supportive Housing: Addressing Homelessness and Health Disparities
Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is an intervention to address long-term homelessness. Evidence has resulted in a shift in US policy toward using PSH rather than shelters and transitional housing. Despite recognizing that individuals transitioning from homelessness to PSH experience a high burden of disease and health disparities, public health research has not considered whether and how PSH improves physical health outcomes. Based on diverse a…
Do Race, Ethnicity, and Psychiatric Diagnoses Matter in the Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Medical Conditions
BACKGROUND: The proportion of people in the United States with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCMC) is increasing. Yet, little is known about the relationship that race, ethnicity, and psychiatric disorders have on the prevalence of MCMCs in the general population. METHODS: This study used data from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N=33,107). Multinomial logistic regression models adjusting for …
Health and Wellness Photovoice Project: Engaging Consumers With Serious Mental Illness in Health Care Interventions
People with serious mental illnesses (SMI) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. We used photovoice in two supportive housing agencies to engage consumers with SMI to inform the implementation of health care interventions. Sixteen consumers participated in six weekly sessions in which they took photographs about their health and discussed the meanings of these photographs in individual interviews and group sess…
Psychology (45 works) · Medicine (43 works) · Psychiatry (35 works) · Mental health (28 works) · Gerontology (21 works) · Clinical Psychology (18 works) · Mental Health Treatment and Access (17 works) · Nursing (16 works) · Psychological intervention (16 works) · Sociology (16 works)