Mental Health Stigma among the Hispanics in USA
There is a need to incorporate nurses in addressing the issues of mental health stigma among the Hispanics living in the US. Mental health conditions are much prevalent among Latino students in the US and need the inclusion of nurse practitioners to address them (DeFreitas et al., 2018). Latinos are minorities in the USA colleges and universities and most of them suffer from mental health stigma due to different forms of discrimination. Discrimination against the Latinos on housing facilities, employment, and a decline in access to mental health services exacerbate prevalence of mental health issues among the Latinos (DeFreitas et al., 2018). Facts on mental health among marginalized groups in the US are useful to the nurse practitioners because they lay a foundation for the mechanisms to apply in dealing with the issue. The methodological issue of this research by DeFreitas et al. (2018), was to ascertain the root cause of mental health stigma among the Latinos in USA’s higher learning institutions and ways to address the mental health stigma by nurses. The main ethical issues emanating from the issue of mental health stigma is loss of self-confidence and lowering of ones self-esteem.
The issues of mental health needs and access to services by Hispanic immigrants demands for nurses’ intervention because they possess the professional skills to help mitigate them (Bridges, Andrews & Deen, 2012). The mid-south United States has witnessed rampant immigration of Hispanics in the last 15 years, which has come along with mental health stigma due to discrimination. There are numerous system barriers which hinder Hispanics with mental health needs from accessing mental health services (Bridges, Andrews & Deen, 2012). The research by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012) to evaluate accessibility of mental health programs by Hispanics with mental health needs is necessary for the nurses to know the areas where mental health services are most needed. The methodological issue of the research by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012), was to assess how possible it is for Hispanics with mental needs to access requisite services in the mid-south US. The main ethical issues arising from barring Hispanics with mental health needs from accessing mental health services are hatred and racism.
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Latino kids also suffer from mental health issues and the issues can be handled professionally by nurse practitioners (Ramirez et al., 2017). According to Ramirez et al. (2017), Latino youth and kids are more prone to mental health issues than the American white youth and kids (Ramirez et al., 2017). Unfortunately, most of the mental health issues among the Latino youth and kids remain untreated but with incorporation of nurses, the issues can be fully addressed. Due to the rampant immigration of Hispanics to the USA, Latino youth and kids have found themselves being discriminated against cultural originality and economic status of their countries of origin. Ramirez et al. (2017) research sought to know the cause of mental health stigma among the Latino youth and kids and steps taken to curb the rising cases of mental health issues. The main ethical issues resulting from discriminating against Latino youth and kids are change of self-esteem and hatred.
Literature Review
The article by DeFreitas et al. (2018) purposed on a research on Latino and African American students in the USA colleges and universities. The research was to point out the main causes of mental health prevalence among African American and Hispanic students. The research involved a total of 122 participants, 75 Latinos and 47 African Americans from an urban college. The research found out that mental health stigma was a common issue among the Latino students, which was mainly caused by discrimination against housing facilities, employment and reduced access to mental health services.
The research by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012) involved a sample of 84 Hispanics. The Hispanic participants were required to complete a diagnostic interview as well as a semi structured service utilization interview with research assistants who were bilingual. The research intended to establish whether mental health services and facilities at the disposal of the Hispanics with mental health issues were fully utilized. The findings from the research identified that Hispanics who have mental health issues and need to seek medical attention are barred from doing so by their white American counterparts.
Ramirez et al. (2017) conducted a research on Latino youth and kids to determine the cause of mental health stigma among them (Ramirez et al., 2017). The research also sought to know the measures which have been put in place to eradicate discrimination among the Latino youth and kids, and reaction by the Latino youth and kids to these measures. The research established that Latino youths and kids suffer from more mental health issues than their peers. The Latino youth and kids also suffer from the experiences they go through during immigration processes. Community and school stressors, discrimination, poverty, bullying, and violence also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among Latino youth and kids.
Undertaking Clinical Fieldwork
Clinical fieldwork is essential before conducting a research related to healthcare provision. Moving forward with the issue of mental health stigma among the Hispanics in USA, a clinical fieldwork which involves physically visiting healthcare facilities which offer mental health care to Hispanics is essential. The clinical fieldwork is most suitable if conducted in the areas which are highly populated by the Hispanics. The clinical fieldwork will involve a one-on-one interview with several nurse practitioners to know how they execute their healthcare services provision to Hispanic victims of mental health stigma. The clinical fieldwork will also involve physical observation of the equipment put in place in the healthcare facilities to diagnose and treat Hispanic victims of mental health stigma. Finally, the clinical fieldwork will be utilized to learn of modern mechanisms put in place in the various healthcare facilities to counter mental health stigma among Hispanics.
Defining the Framework and Developing Conceptual Definitions
This research study will seek to know whether nurses deployed in areas with high populations of Hispanics are effectively doing their duties to eradicate mental health stigma. The following keywords will feature in the research study; Hispanics, nurse practitioners, health recovery, marginalized groups, immigrants and survey design. The United States of America witnesses immigrants on a daily basis. Most of these Hispanic immigrants move to the USA to look for jobs. The total population of the Hispanics in the USA is at 17% of the total population of the whole country and it is expected to rise by the year 2050. The research by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012) has established that great resistance is experienced by Hispanics while trying to access mental health services. However, the research by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012) does not clearly explore the role of nurse practitioners in health service provision for Hispanics. This research study will borrow some ideas from the research conducted by Bridges, Andrews and Deen (2012) and Ramirez et al. (2017), but will mainly focus on establishing whether nurse practitioners are effectively playing their role in healthcare provision to the Hispanics.
Formulating Hypotheses
The research study is to determine the role played by nurse practitioners in the provision of healthcare services to Hispanics suffering from mental health stigma. The research will also rely on previous research by different researchers who have carried research studies before on the issue of mental health stigma among Hispanics in the USA. The research study will rely on questions answered by both Hispanics and nurse practitioners. For instance, the research questions directed to the Hispanics will be; how many times have nurses offered medical care to you concerning mental health stigma? Have ever been discriminated against by nurses while seeking for medical attention in the healthcare facilities? Do you always feel secure and comfortable while seeking medical attention from healthcare facilities? On the other hand, the following questions will be directed to the nurses; do you handle Hispanics patients’ issues the same way you handle white Americans’ issues? If you found yourself in a situation where you are supposed to offer medical attention to two patients, one an Hispanic and another a white American, whom would you attend to first and why?
References
Bridges, A., Andrews, A., & Deen, T. (2012). Mental Health Needs and Service Utilization by Hispanic Immigrants Residing in Mid-Southern United States. 23(4): 359–368. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4060822/
DeFreitas, S., Crone, T., DeLeon, M., & Ajayi, A. (2018). Perceived and Personal Mental Health Stigma in Latino and African American College Students. 6: 49. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5834514/
Ramirez, A., Gallion, K., Aguilar, R., & Dembeck, E. (2017). Mental Health and Latino Kids: A Research Review. Retrieved October 11, 2019; from https://salud-america.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FINAL-mental-health-research-review-9-12-17.pdf
