Depression fotonovela: Integrating cultural factors and entertainment-education to improve depression literacy in the Latino community

Latinos in the United States face serious mental health care disparities. A combination of person-level barriers, such as low levels of acculturation, stigma, negative attitudes towards mental health treatments, and limited health literacy, contribute to these inequities in mental health care. In this chapter, we review the literature on how person-level barriers impact mental health care disparities in the Latino community. We describe how a depression fotonovela, “Secret Feelings”, that integrates cultural elements from the Latino community and uses an entertainment-education approach can help address these barriers. We also discuss the practice and research implications of using “Secret Feelings” to improve mental health care in the Latino community.