Outline Mental health disparity among the different ethnic groups in the United States has been highlighted for years. The Latino or Hispanic population suffers the greatest disparity among all the other ethnic groups. Latinos are unable to get access to major services like cultural competent care. Living conditions for Latinos is usually in poverty stricken area with limited access to psychiatric care. Latinos are also likely to be without insurance coverages. Added to this, most Latinos with a mental health disorder will be reluctant to seek medical assistance because of stigmatization. These reasons have contributed to an increase in mental health disorders and the disparity that is seen in their communities. This is a major social justice …show more content…
The most important of these is the lack of access to mental health services the Hispanic population experience. They are affected by mental health problems at rates that are similar or higher to those of the general population (APA). They are therefore a very high-risk group because of the disparities they experience in seeking social services and following up with treatment. Hispanics are the highest minority population in the United States. It has therefore taken the attention of major stakeholders because of the lack of social services that are available to them, especially those with mental health. For example, the Surgeon General in 2001 made a report titled Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, in which he stressed on the need to eliminate disparities in the utilization of mental health services among Latinos as a top priority. He concluded that the disparities they experience have contributed to major depressive disorders among them and has led to chronic illnesses. It has led to a high degree of functional limitation among them than among other populations. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) also contributed to this discussion in its report titled Unequal Treatment. They defined disparity as differences between racial-ethnic minority groups and whites that have contributed to both socio-economic and health care disparities that are for most of the time against …show more content…
One of the goals of Healthy People 2010 is to eliminate health disparities among groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR), has been leaders of the Healthy People 2010 initiative to eliminate disparities among racial groups. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) also contributed to this debate by providing definitions and statistics on this issue. Finally, the National Healthcare Disparities Report further gave evidence on this topic and the need to do something to change the situation. All these organizations have seen huge differences that the different communities or populations experience in mental health today in the U.S. All of them have the firm conviction that Latinos suffer a great disservice when it comes to accessing mental health services and they are also in agreement that this disparity needs to change and has therefore decided to make an input on this
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreCuéllar, I., & Paniagua, F. A. (2000). Handbook of Multicultural Mental Health : Assessment and Treatment of Diverse Populations. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
All minority groups experience discrimination which leads to increased levels of stress in those individuals. As the level of stress goes up, so does the risk for several health complications including those related to mental health. Wells, Klap, Koike, and Sherbourne (2001) conducted a study examining the disparities in mental health care among black, Hispanic, and white Americans. Of those Hispanics in the study (n=617), 16.6% of them had a probable mental disorder compared to 13.4% of whites (n=7,299). Hispanics also had a higher incidence of substance abuse problems with 9% of those surveyed meeting criteria compared to 7.6% of whites. Hispanics also had the least reported perceived need for treatment with 10.4% for mental health and only 1.3% for substance abuse. A clinician treating Antonio should keep in mind that he has a higher likelihood of having a mental illness or substance use disorder than a white client as well as the fact that if he does meet the criteria for either, that he probably does not believe he needs
Health disparity is one of the burdens that contributes to our healthcare system in providing equal healthcare to everyone regarding of race, age, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status to achieve good health. Research reveals that racial and ethnic minorities are likely to receive lower quality of healthcare services than white Americans.
Mental health disparities, “the power imbalances that impact practices influencing access, quality, and outcomes of behavioral health care, or a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rate in a specific group of people defined along racial and ethnic lines, as compared with the general population” (Safran, 2011). Although there are many mental health care dipartites, I’m going to focus on the impact of poverty and lack of attention given to mental health. By advocating for a prevention, promotion, and intervention related to mental health, will aid in minimizing mental health disparities. Not only is it important to advocate on a macro level, but it is important to educate
Healthcare disparities are when there are inequalities or differences of the conditions of health and the quality of care that is received among specific groups of people such as African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, or Hispanics. Not only does it occur between racial and ethnic groups, health disparities can happen between males and females as well. Minorities have the worst healthcare outcomes, higher death rates, and are more prone to terminal diseases. For African American men and women, some of the most common health disparities are diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infections. Some factors that can contribute to disparities are healthcare access, transportation, specialist referrals, and non-effective communication with patients. There is also much racism that still occurs today, which can be another reason African Americans may be mistreated with their healthcare. “Although both black and white patients tended not to endorse the existence of racism in the medical system, African Americans patients were more likely to perceive racism” (Laveist, Nickerson, Bowie, 2000). Over the years, the health care system has made improvements but some Americans, such as African Americans, are still being treating unequally when wanting the same care they desire as everyone else.
As defined by World Health Organization (WHO), health is a "state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (WHO, 2016). However, this statement can vary among people’s perspective of what consider healthy or unhealthy. In the minority group of Hispanics or Latino, health issues have taken a big toll due to fact they are the largest uninsured rates of any racial and ethnic groups in the United States (OMH, 2015). Besides not having health insurance, there are many barriers that this minority group encounters that create a big impact on what enables them to promote health. This paper will analyze the health status of the Hispanic or Latino groups by comparing and contrasting it to the national average, and also will highlight the health disparities in the group and the best approach to health using the three levels of health promotion and prevention.
According to Kramer (2002), Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States; growing from fewer than 1 million in 1960 to 7.2 million in 1990. But despite this ongoing rapid progression, Asian Americans have the lowest rate of utilization of any professional mental health related services than the general United States population (Tung 2011). To increase the utilization of mental health services among the Asian American community, the most hindering barriers that exist preventing Asian Americans in general from seeking out these services must be identified and explored. In spite of the fact that Asian Americans are viewed as the “model minority”, with high academic achievements and few mental/behavioral problems, studies
Mental healthcare has a long and murky past in the United States. In the early 1900s, patients could live in institutions for many years. The treatments and conditions were, at times, inhumane. Legislation in the 1980s and 1990s created programs to protect this vulnerable population from abuse and discrimination. In the last 20 years, mental health advocacy groups and legislators have made gains in bringing attention to the disparity between physical and mental health programs. However, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses continues to be less than optimal. Mental health disparities continue to exist in all areas of the world.
Health care for mental illness is an issue in the African American community for Men, Women and Adolescents due to the underserving and lack of mental healthcare providers, the cultural stigma of having mental illness and the socioeconomic status of African Americans.
Many Latinos do not seek treatment because they don't recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions or know where to find help. This is an important aspect of this issue since it is impossible to know if there is a problem with ourselves if they’re not talked about to us. In turn, this increases the stigma associated with mental health issues and worry that they will be seen as weak, crazy or shameful. Even simply spreading the basic information about the common conditions, will help convince people that it is normal to be born with, or develop these
Large disparities exist between minorities and the rest of Americans in major areas of health. Even though the overall health of the nation is improving, minorities suffer from certain diseases up to five times more than the rest of the nation. President Clinton has committed the nation to eliminating the disparities in six areas of health by the Year 2010, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be jumping in on this huge battle. The six areas are: Infant Mortality, Cancer Screening and Management, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, HIV Infection and AIDS, and Child and Adult Immunizations.
Mental health care disparities can be rooted in inequalities in access to good providers, differences in insurance coverage, or discrimination by health professionals in the clinical encounter (McGuire & Miranda, 2008). Surely, those who are affected by these disparities are minorities Blacks and Latinos compare to Whites. Due to higher rates of poverty and poor health among United States minorities compared with whites. Moreover, the fact that poverty and poor health are
According to the institute of Medicine (IOM), racism is a problem in the health care system, that is, the difference between the quality of health care received by minorities and non-minorities is due to racism. IOM is a nonprofit organization that advises the federal government and the public on science policy. It released a report that on average, minorities receive a lower quality of care, even when factors such as income and type of health insurance are accounted for. The report by IOM states that racial stereotypes and prejudice are the cause of the health care disparities. The article by IOM points ...
The disparities in the healthcare system contribute to the overall health status disparities that affect ethnic and racial minorities. The sources of ethnic and racial healthcare disparities include cultural barriers, geography differences, or healthcare provider stereotyping. In addition, difficulties in communication between health care providers and patients, lack of access to healthcare providers, and lack of access to adequate health care coverage
Both mental illness and substance abuse remain stigmatized with major gender, racial-ethnic and economic inequalities in access, use and quality of services and support. Therefore, my goal is to collaborate with educational institutions, health organizations and government agencies to create, study, and disseminate interventions that reduce the risk, increase resilience, provide effective treatment, and aid in-long term recovery. In particular, I am interested in creating policies that will help bridge the economic inequalities face by those who experience mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. With these plans in mind, I am currently studying French and will continue working with underserved communities to gain valuable field experience in public