Mental Health Disparities Among the Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians

Cook, B., Trinh, N., Li, Z., Hou, S., & Progovac, A. (2017). Trends in Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Access to Mental Health Care, 2004–2012.  Psychiatric Services ,  68 (1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500453 

The focus of this article was to assess variations in mental healthcare trends among different ethnic groups. The researchers focused on mental healthcare disparities among Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. The study was based on the Institute of Medicine's definition of disparities except for clinical appositeness, clinical need, and client preferences. The scholars used a sample group of 214,597 adults. The main pointers were any use of mental healthcare, any outpatient care indicators, and any mental health medication in the past year. The period under study was between 2004 and 2012. The research findings indicate substantial inequalities between 2004 and 2005 and from 2011 and 2012 for the three minority ethnic groups compared with Whites in all the access measures. Between 2004 and 2005, mental health medication increased from 8.2 percent to 10.8 percent, while from 2011 to 2011, the increase was from 7.6 percent to 20 percent. Concerning white ethnic group statistics, access to mental healthcare and associated medication increased from 8.4 percent to 10.9 percent and 7.3 percent to 10.3 percent. The authors noted that racial-ethnic disparities in mental healthcare access did not decrease between 2004 and 2012. Fundamentally, the study shows that ease of access to mental healthcare for Blacks and Hispanics worsened during this period. The researchers note that clinical-based interventions that enhance the identification of mental health signs increase the scope of healthcare insurance, and other beneficial policy interventions may aid in reducing the mental health access gap. The study is important because it helps illuminate the disparities in access to mental healthcare among different racial, ethnic groups. Consequently, the study's findings form a basis for improving access to mental health across all races by preempting any structural biases. This study has level V evidence because it involved a systematic review of both descriptive and qualitative methodologies guided by the 2004 to 2012 data meta-synthesis. 

Reference

Cook, B., Trinh, N., Li, Z., Hou, S., & Progovac, A. (2017). Trends in Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Access to Mental Health Care, 2004–2012.  Psychiatric Services ,  68 (1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500453