Mediators of Ethnic Differences in Dropout Rates From a Randomized Controlled Treatment Trial Among Latinx and Non-Latinx White Primary Care Patients With Anxiety Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Disparities in treatment engagement and adherence based on ethnicity have been widely recognized but are inadequately understood. Few studies have examined treatment dropout among Latinx and non-Latinx White (NLW) individuals. Using Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (A behavioral model of families' use of health services. 1968; J Health Soc Behav. 1995; 36:1-10) as a framework, we examine whether pretreatment variables (categorized as predisposing, enabling, and need factors) mediate the relationship between ethnicity and premature dropout in a sample of Latinx and NLW primary care patients with anxiety disorders who participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of cognitive behavioral therapy. Data from a total of 353 primary care patients were examined; 96 Latinx and 257 NLW patients participated. Results indicated that Latinx patients dropped out of treatment more often than NLW patients, resulting in roughly 58% of Latinx patients failing to complete treatment compared with 42% of NLW, and approximately 29% of Latinx patients dropping out before engaging in modules related to cognitive restructuring or exposure, relative to 11% of NLW patients. Mediation analyses suggest that social support and somatization partially explained the relationship between ethnicity and treatment dropout, highlighting the importance of these variables in understanding treatment disparities.

Life Events, Barriers to Care, and Outcomes Among Minority Women Experiencing Depression: A Longitudinal, Mixed-Method Examination.

ABSTRACT: The long-term course of depression is not well-understood among minority women. We assessed depression trajectory, barriers to depression care, and life difficulties among minority women accessing health and social service programs as part of the Community Partners in Care study. Data include surveys ( N = 339) and interviews ( n = 58) administered at 3-year follow-up with African American and Latina women with improved versus persistent depression. The majority of the sample reported persistent depression (224/339, 66.1%), ≥1 barrier to mental health care (226/339, 72.4%), and multiple life difficulties (mean, 2.7; SD, 2.3). Many barriers to care ( i.e. , related to stigma and care experience, finances, and logistics) and life difficulties ( i.e. , related to finances, trauma, and relationships) were more common among individuals reporting persistent depression. Results suggest the importance of past experiences with depression treatment, ongoing barriers to care, and negative life events as contributors to inequities in depression outcomes experienced by minority women.

Income as a Predictor of Self-Efficacy for Managing Pain and for Coping With Symptoms Among Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain self-efficacy (PSE) and coping self-efficacy (CSE) for people with chronic low back pain (CLBP), and to assess whether lower income may be associated with less PSE and CSE in the United States. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using survey data collected between June 2016 and February 2017 from n = 1364 patients with CLBP from chiropractic clinics in the United States to measure the relationship between income and both types of self-efficacy. We created 4 multivariate models predicting PSE and CSE scores. We used both a parsimonious set of covariates (age, sex) and a full set (age, sex, education, neck pain comorbidity, catastrophizing, and insurance). We also calculated effect sizes (Cohen's d) for unadjusted differences in PSE and CSE score by income. RESULTS: Lower income was associated with lower PSE and CSE scores across all 4 models. In the full models, the highest-income group had an average of 1 point (1-10 scale) higher PSE score and CSE score compared to the lowest income group. Effect sizes for the unadjusted differences in PSE and CSE scores between the highest and lowest income groups were 0.94 and 0.84, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that people with lower income perceive themselves as less able to manage their pain, and that this relationship exists even after taking into account factors like health insurance and educational attainment. There is a need to further investigate how practitioners and policymakers can best support low-income patients with chronic pain.

Depression Remission From Community Coalitions Versus Individual Program Support for Services: Findings From Community Partners in Care, Los Angeles, California, 2010-2016.

Objectives. To explore effects of coalitions (Community Engagement and Planning [CEP]) versus technical assistance (Resources for Services [RS]) for depression collaborative care and the effects of social determinants on long-term remission outcomes. Methods. We randomized 95 health care and community programs in Los Angeles County, California, to CEP or RS. In 2010, 1246 depressed (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-8] ≥ 10) adults enrolled and were invited for baseline and 6-, 12-, and 36-month surveys. Of 598 3-year completers, 283 participated at 4 years (2016). We examined effects of CEP versus RS, social factors (e.g., family income, food insecurity) on time to and periods in clinical (PHQ-8 < 10) and community-defined (PHQ-8 < 10 or PHQ-2 < 3; mental health composite score [MCS-12] > 40, or mental wellness) remission during the course of 3 years, and at 4 years. Results. We found that CEP versus RS increased 4-year depression remission and, for women, community-defined remission outcomes during the course of 3 years. Social factors and clinical factors predicted remission. Conclusions. At 4 years, CEP was more effective than RS at increasing depression remission. Public Health Implications. Coalitions may improve 4-year depression remission, while addressing social and clinical factors associated with depression may hold potential to enhance remission.

Researching the Appropriateness of Care in the Complementary and Integrative Health Professions Part 3: Designing Instruments With Patient Input.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe how we designed patient survey instruments to ensure that patient data about preferences and experience could be included in appropriateness decisions. These actions were part of a project that examined the appropriateness of spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain. METHODS: We conducted focus groups, cognitive interviews, a literature review of measures in prior chiropractic and complementary and integrative health research, and a pilot study to develop questionnaires of patient preferences, experiences, values, and beliefs. RESULTS: Questionnaires were administered online to 2024 individuals from 125 chiropractic clinics. The survey included 3 long questionnaires and 5 shorter ones. All were administered online. The baseline items had 2 questionnaires that respondents could complete in different sittings. Respondents completed shorter biweekly follow-ups every 2 weeks and a final questionnaire at 3 months. The 2 initial questionnaires had 81 and 140 items, the 5 biweekly follow-up questionnaires had 37 items each, and the endline questionnaire contained 121 items. Participants generally responded positively to the survey items, and 91% of the patients who completed a baseline questionnaire completed the endpoint survey 3 months later. We used "legacy" measures, and we also adapted measures and developed new measures for this study. Preliminary assessment of reliability and validity for a newly developed scale about coping behaviors indicates that the items work well together in a scale. CONCLUSIONS: This article documents the challenges and the efforts involved in designing data collection tools to facilitate the inclusion of patient data into appropriateness decisions.

Coping and Management Techniques Used by Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Receiving Treatment From Chiropractors.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe coping strategies (eg, mechanisms, including self-treatment) that a person uses to reduce pain and its impact on functioning as reported by patients with chronic low back pain who were seen by doctors of chiropractic and how these coping strategies vary by patient characteristics. METHODS: Data were collected from a national sample of US chiropractic patients recruited from chiropractic practices in 6 states from major geographical regions of the United States using a multistage stratified sampling strategy. Reports of coping behaviors used to manage pain during the past 6 months were used to create counts across 6 domains: cognitive, self-care, environmental, medical care, social activities, and work. Exploratory analyses examined counts in domains and frequencies of individual items by levels of patient characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 1677 respondents with chronic low back pain reported using an average of 9 coping behaviors in the prior 6 months. Use of more types of behaviors were reported among those with more severe back pain, who rated their health as fair or poor and who had daily occurrences of pain. Exercise was more frequent among the healthy and those with less pain. Female respondents tended to report using more coping behaviors than men, and Hispanics more than non-Hispanics. CONCLUSION: Persons with chronic back pain were proactive in their coping strategies and frequently used self-care coping strategies like those provided by chiropractors in patient education. In alignment with patients' beliefs that their condition was chronic and lifelong, many patients attempted a wide range of coping strategies to relieve their pain.

12-Month Cost Outcomes of Community Engagement Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement: A Partnered, Cluster Randomized, Comparative-Effectiveness Trial.

Objective: To compare community engagement and planning (CEP) for coalition support to implement depression quality improvement (QI) to resources for services (RS) effects on service-use costs over a 12-month period. Design: Matched health and community programs (N=93) were cluster-randomized within communities to CEP or RS. Setting: Two Los Angeles communities. Participants: Adults (N=1,013) with depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) ≥10); 85% African American and Latino. Interventions: CEP and RS to support programs in depression QI. Main Outcome Measures: Intervention training and service-use costs over 12 months. Results: CEP planning and training costs were almost 3 times higher than RS, largely due to greater CEP provider training participation vs RS, with no significant differences in 12-month service-use costs. Conclusions: Compared with RS, CEP had higher planning and training costs with similar service-use costs.

Maintaining Internal Validity in Community Partnered Participatory Research: Experience from the Community Partners in Care Study.

Objective: With internal validity being a central goal of designed experiments, we seek to elucidate how community partnered participatory research (CPPR) impacts the internal validity of public health comparative-effectiveness research. Methods: Community Partners in Care (CPIC), a study comparing a community-coalition intervention to direct technical assistance for disseminating depression care to vulnerable populations, is used to illustrate design choices developed with attention to core CPPR principles. The study-design process is reviewed retrospectively and evaluated based on the resulting covariate balance across intervention arms and on broader peer-review assessments. Contributions of the CPIC Council and the study's design committee are highlighted. Results: CPPR principles contributed to building consensus around the use of randomization, creating a sampling frame, specifying geographic boundaries delimiting the scope of the investigation, grouping similar programs into pairs or other small blocks of units, collaboratively choosing random-number-generator seeds to determine randomized intervention assignments, and addressing logistical constraints in field operations. Study protocols yielded samples that were well-balanced on background characteristics across intervention arms. CPIC has been recognized for scientific merit, has drawn attention from policymakers, and has fueled ongoing research collaborations. Conclusions: Creative and collaborative fulfillment of CPPR principles reinforced the internal validity of CPIC, strengthening the study's scientific rigor by engaging complementary areas of knowledge and expertise among members of the investigative team.

Comparative Effectiveness of Coalitions Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions.

Significance: Prior research suggests that Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support compared with Resources for Services (RS) for program technical assistance to implement depression quality improvement programs improves 6- and 12-month client mental-health related quality of life (MHRQL); however, effects for clients with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCC) are unknown. Objective: To explore effectiveness of CEP vs RS in MCC and non-MCC subgroups. Design: Secondary analyses of a cluster-randomized trial. Setting: 93 health care and community-based programs in two neighborhoods. Participants: Of 4,440 clients screened, 1,322 depressed (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ8) provided contact information, 1,246 enrolled and 1,018 (548 with ≥3 MCC) completed baseline, 6- or 12-month surveys. Intervention: CEP or RS for implementing depression quality improvement programs. Outcomes and Analyses: Primary: depression (PHQ9 <10), poor MHRQL (Short Form Health Survey, SF-12<40); Secondary: mental wellness, good physical health, behavioral health hospitalization, chronic homelessness risk, work/workloss days, services use at 6 and 12 months. End-point regressions were used to estimate intervention effects on outcomes for subgroups with ≥3 MCC, non-MCC, and intervention-by-MCC interactions (exploratory). Results: Among MCC clients at 6 months, CEP vs RS lowered likelihoods of depression and poor MHRQL; increased likelihood of mental wellness; reduced work-loss days among employed and likelihoods of ≥4 behavioral-health hospitalization nights and chronic homelessness risk, while increasing faith-based and park community center depression services; and at 12 months, likelihood of good physical health and park community center depression services use (each P<.05). There were no significant interactions or primary outcome effects for non-MCC. Conclusions: CEP was more effective than RS in improving 6-month primary outcomes among depressed MCC clients, without significant interactions.

Age Differences in Death and Suicidal Ideation in Anxious Primary Care Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine age differences in the likelihood of endorsing of death and suicidal ideation in primary care patients with anxiety disorders. METHOD: Participants were drawn from the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) Study, an effectiveness trial for primary care patients with panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and/or social anxiety disorder (SAD). RESULTS: Approximately one third of older adults with anxiety disorders reported feeling like they were better off dead. Older adults with PD and SAD were more likely to endorse suicidal ideation lasting at least more than half the prior week compared with younger adults with these disorders. Older adults with SAD endorsed higher rates of suicidal ideation compared with older adults with other anxiety disorders. Multivariate analyses revealed the importance of physical health, social support, and comorbid MDD in this association. CONCLUSIONS: Suicidal ideation is common in anxious, older, primary care patients and is particularly prevalent in socially anxious older adults. Findings speak to the importance of physical health, social functioning, and MDD in this association. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: When working with anxious older adults it is important to conduct a thorough suicide risk assessment and teach skills to cope with death and suicidal ideation-related thoughts.

Standardization of health outcomes assessment for depression and anxiety: recommendations from the ICHOM Depression and Anxiety Working Group.

PURPOSE: National initiatives, such as the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), demonstrate the feasibility of conducting empirical mental health assessments on a large scale, and similar initiatives exist in other countries. However, there is a lack of international consensus on which outcome domains are most salient to monitor treatment progress and how they should be measured. The aim of this project was to propose (1) an essential set of outcome domains relevant across countries and cultures, (2) a set of easily accessible patient-reported instruments, and (3) a psychometric approach to make scores from different instruments comparable. METHODS: Twenty-four experts, including ten health outcomes researchers, ten clinical experts from all continents, two patient advocates, and two ICHOM coordinators worked for seven months in a consensus building exercise to develop recommendations based on existing evidence using a structured consensus-driven modified Delphi technique. RESULTS: The group proposes to combine an assessment of potential outcome predictors at baseline (47 items: demographics, functional, clinical status, etc.), with repeated assessments of disease-specific symptoms during the treatment process (19 items: symptoms, side effects, etc.), and a comprehensive annual assessment of broader treatment outcomes (45 items: remission, absenteeism, etc.). Further, it is suggested reporting disease-specific symptoms for depression and anxiety on a standardized metric to increase comparability with other legacy instruments. All recommended instruments are provided online ( www.ichom.org ). CONCLUSION: An international standard of health outcomes assessment has the potential to improve clinical decision making, enhance health care for the benefit of patients, and facilitate scientific knowledge.

Depression Quality of Care: Measuring Quality over Time Using VA Electronic Medical Record Data.

BACKGROUND: The Veterans Health Administration (VA) has invested substantially in evidence-based mental health care. Yet no electronic performance measures for assessing the level at which the population of Veterans with depression receive appropriate care have proven robust enough to support rigorous evaluation of the VA's depression initiatives. OBJECTIVE: Our objectives were to develop prototype longitudinal electronic population-based measures of depression care quality, validate the measures using expert panel judgment by VA and non-VA experts, and examine detection, follow-up and treatment rates over a decade (2000-2010). We describe our development methodology and the challenges to creating measures that capture the longitudinal course of clinical care from detection to treatment. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Data come from the National Patient Care Database and Pharmacy Benefits Management Database for primary care patients from 1999 to 2011, from nine Veteran Integrated Service Networks. MEASURES: We developed four population-based quality metrics for depression care that incorporate a 6-month look back and 1-year follow-up: detection of a new episode of depression, 84 and 180 day follow-up, and minimum appropriate treatment 1-year post detection. Expert panel techniques were used to evaluate the measure development methodology and results. Key challenges to creating valid longitudinal measures are discussed. KEY RESULTS: Over the decade, the rates for detection of new episodes of depression remained stable at 7-8 %. Follow-up at 84 and 180 days were 37 % and 45 % in 2000 and increased to 56 % and 63 % by 2010. Minimum appropriate treatment remained relatively stable over the decade (82-84 %). CONCLUSIONS: The development of valid longitudinal, population-based quality measures for depression care is a complex process with numerous challenges. If the full spectrum of care from detection to follow-up and treatment is not captured, performance measures could actually mask the clinical areas in need of quality improvement efforts.

Community Engagement Compared With Technical Assistance to Disseminate Depression Care Among Low-Income, Minority Women: A Randomized Controlled Effectiveness Study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of a (CEP) versus a technical assistance approach (Resources for Services, or RS) to disseminate depression care for low-income ethnic minority women. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses of intervention effects for largely low-income, minority women subsample (n = 595; 45.1% Latino and 45.4% African American) in a matched, clustered, randomized control trial conducted in 2 low-resource communities in Los Angeles, California, between 2010 and 2012. Outcomes assessed included mental health, socioeconomic factors, and service use at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Although we found no intervention difference for depressive symptoms, there were statistically significant effects for mental health quality of life, resiliency, homelessness risk, and financial difficulties at 6 months, as well as missed work days, self-efficacy, and care barriers at 12 months favoring CEP relative to RS. CEP increased use of outpatient substance abuse services and faith-based depression visits at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Engaging health care and social community programs may offer modest improvements on key functional and socioeconomic outcomes, reduce care barriers, and increase engagement in alternative depression services for low-income, predominantly ethnic minority women.

Sampling and Recruiting Community-Based Programs Using Community-Partnered Participation Research.

The inclusion of community partners in participatory leadership roles around statistical design issues like sampling and randomization has raised concerns about scientific integrity. This article presents a case study of a community-partnered, participatory research (CPPR) cluster-randomized, comparative effectiveness trial to examine implications for study validity and community relevance. Using study administrative data, we describe a CPPR-based design and implementation process for agency/program sampling, recruitment, and randomization for depression interventions. We calculated participation rates and used cross-tabulation to examine balance by intervention status on service sector, location, and program size and assessed differences in potential populations served. We achieved 51.5% agency and 89.6% program participation rates. Programs in different intervention arms were not significantly different on service sector, location, or program size. Participating programs were not significantly different from eligible, nonparticipating programs on community characteristics. We reject claims that including community members in research design decisions compromises scientific integrity. This case study suggests that a CPPR process can improve implementation of a community-grounded, rigorous randomized comparative effectiveness trial.

Understanding asthma-specific quality of life: moving beyond asthma symptoms and severity.

This study identifies the unique contributions of asthma severity, symptoms, control and generic measures of quality of life (QoL) to asthma-specific QoL, as measured by the 12-item RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life scale (RAND-IAQL-12).Using a sample of 2032 adults with asthma, we conducted multiple regression analyses that sequentially examined hypothesised predictors of asthma-specific QoL. The change in variance accounted for and total unique variance accounted for is calculated as hypothesised predictors are added in each step.Our results indicate that asthma severity and asthma symptoms are strong predictors of asthma-specific QoL only when not controlling for aspects of asthma control. In regression models that include other aspects of asthma control, the contributions of both asthma symptoms and severity were substantially reduced, with asthma control and aspects of QoL related to social roles and activities emerging as the strongest predictors of asthma-specific QoL.These findings suggest that researchers measuring the impact of asthma on QoL should also consider the importance of asthma control as measured by the RAND Asthma Control Measure (RAND-ACM) and generic QoL scales that measure aspects of daily life that are uniquely affected by asthma.

12-month outcomes of community engagement versus technical assistance to implement depression collaborative care: a partnered, cluster, randomized, comparative effectiveness trial.

BACKGROUND: Depression collaborative care implementation using community engagement and planning (CEP) across programs improves 6-month client outcomes in minority communities, compared with technical assistance to individual programs (resources for services [RS]). However, 12-month outcomes are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To compare effects of CEP and RS on mental health-related quality of life (MHRQL) and use of services among depressed clients at 12 months. DESIGN: Matched health and community programs (n = 93) in 2 communities randomly assigned to receive CEP or RS. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01699789). MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported MHRQL and services use at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. SETTING: Los Angeles, California. PATIENTS: 1018 adults with depressive symptoms (8-item Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥10), 88% of whom were an ethnic minority. INTERVENTION: CEP and RS to implement depression collaborative care. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was poor MHRQL (12-item mental health composite score ≤40) at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months; the secondary outcome was use of services at 12 months. RESULTS: At 6 months, the finding that CEP outperformed RS to reduce poor MHRQL was significant but sensitive to underlying statistical assumptions. At 12 months, some analyses suggested that CEP was advantageous to MHRQL, whereas others did not confirm a significant difference favoring CEP. The finding that CEP reduced behavioral health hospitalizations at 6 months was less evident at 12 months and was sensitive to underlying statistical assumptions. Other services use did not significantly differ between interventions at 12 months. LIMITATION: Data are self-reported, and findings are sensitive to modeling assumptions. CONCLUSION: In contrast to 6-month results, no consistent effects of CEP on reducing the likelihood of poor MHRQL and behavioral health hospitalizations were found at 12 months. Still, given the needs of underresourced communities, the favorable profile of CEP, and the lack of evidence-based alternatives, CEP remains a viable strategy for policymakers and communities to consider. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institute of Mental Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, California Community Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and National Institutes of Health/National Center for Advancing Translational Science for the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Assessing the validity of the RAND negative impact of asthma on quality of life short forms.

BACKGROUND: In response to recommendations from the 2010 National Institutes of Health Asthma Outcomes Workshop, we developed a system for measuring the negative impact of asthma on quality of life (QoL), which was referred to as the RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life (RAND-IAQL) item bank. The bank contains 65 items that focus on the patient's perception of the impact or bother of asthma on his or her life. OBJECTIVE: Evidence for the validity of 2 short forms, the RAND-IAQL 4-item and 12-item Short Forms, from the bank is presented. METHODS: Using a sample of 2032 adults with asthma, we validated our short forms against the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire-Marks (AQLQ-M), the Asthma Control Test, and generic measures of QoL developed by the Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Discriminant validity was examined by comparing scores of respondents who differed according to multiple health indicators. RESULTS: Our sample ranged in age from 18 to 99 years (mean, 43 years), with 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 19% African American, and 56% non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity. Men had a significantly worse impact of asthma on QoL than women. The impact of asthma on QoL was greatest in African American and Hispanic subjects compared with that seen in non-Hispanic white subjects. Our measures correlated highly with the AQLQ-M and more strongly with the PROMIS global physical than mental scales. They differentiated between adults with asthma according to their perceived severity, level of control, presence or absence of exacerbations, and physical comorbidity. CONCLUSION: The RAND-IAQL item bank, measuring the impact of asthma on QoL, will complement other patient-reported outcomes, such as measures of asthma symptoms, functioning, and control.

Development and validation of the RAND Asthma Control Measure.

Patient-based measures for asthma control are important in assessing the worldwide impact of this highly prevalent chronic illness. We sought to refine an asthma symptom scale that RAND had previously developed to shorten it and validate it further, as well as reflect updated international expert definitions of asthma control. We conducted rigorous psychometric testing of new and adapted self-administered survey items in a sample of 2032 adults with asthma. The reliability and preliminary validity of the resulting measure, henceforth referred to as the RAND Asthma Control Measure (RAND-ACM), matched or exceeded that of the original RAND measure and others in the literature. RAND-ACM scores for worse asthma control were significantly associated with worse asthma-related quality of life, increased asthma-related healthcare use, Hispanic ethnicity and lower educational level. Evidence for internal consistency was strong with a Cronbach's α of 0.84. We also found adequate concordance between the RAND-ACM and the Global Initiative for Asthma categories of "uncontrolled", "partly controlled" and "controlled" asthma. The RAND-ACM, a five-item self-reported asthma control survey measure, performs well in a large ethnically-diverse sample of US adults with asthma and provides a cost-free alternative to other asthma control measures currently available.

Perceived social support mediates anxiety and depressive symptom changes following primary care intervention.

BACKGROUND: The current study tested whether perceived social support serves as a mediator of anxiety and depressive symptom change following evidence-based anxiety treatment in the primary care setting. Gender, age, and race were tested as moderators. METHODS: Data were obtained from 1004 adult patients (age M = 43, SD = 13; 71% female; 56% White, 20% Hispanic, 12% Black) who participated in a randomized effectiveness trial (coordinated anxiety learning and management [CALM] study) comparing evidence-based intervention (cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or psychopharmacology) to usual care in the primary care setting. Patients were assessed with a battery of questionnaires at baseline, as well as at 6, 12, and 18 months following baseline. Measures utilized in the mediation analyses included the Abbreviated Medical Outcomes (MOS) Social Support Survey, the Brief Symptom Index (BSI)-Somatic and Anxiety subscales, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). RESULTS: There was a mediating effect over time of perceived social support on symptom change following treatment, with stronger effects for 18-month depression than anxiety. None of the mediating pathways were moderated by gender, age, or race. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived social support may be central to anxiety and depressive symptom changes over time with evidence-based intervention in the primary care setting. These findings possibly have important implications for development of anxiety interventions.