黑料正能量 Note: The APA notes that over a decade after national measures indicated vast disparities in the way ethnic minorities receive mental health care, providers and policy makers have not been able to significantly improve treatment for people with diverse ethnic backgrounds. The brief article below is followed with a trove of resources for providers, payers, and policy makers alike who are interested in gaining proficiency in culturally competent mental health care.
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Ethnic Minorities Still Receiving Inferior Mental Health Treatment, Says APA Journal
Culturally sensitive care in primary care settings can improve access to services
American Psychological Association; 12/3/2014
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Primary care that includes mental health screenings and treatments that take into account a patient鈥檚 language and cultural background can help address mental health care disparities among ethnic minorities, according to psychologists, physicians and other health care experts writing in a special issue of听, published by the American Psychological Association.
Thirteen years since a听听declared that African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans receive lower quality mental health care in general than whites, there are still significant barriers to mental health services. These inequities include cost, stigma and poor quality, according to the special issue鈥檚 leading article, 鈥溙(PDF, 254KB).鈥 The piece was written by Kisha Holden, PhD, MSCR, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, Brian McGregor, PhD, Poonam Thandi, MD, Edith Fresh, PhD, Kameron Sheats, PhD, Allyson Belton, MPH, and Gail Mattox, MD, of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.
鈥淢ore than 50 percent of patients currently being treated receive some form of mental health services treatment from a primary care provider, and primary care is now the sole form of health care used by over 30 percent of patients with a mental disorder accessing the health care system,鈥 the authors wrote. 鈥淭herefore, it is vital that mental health services are integrated with primary care services. A health care team that considers culture, shows respect and assesses and affirms patient differences will provide patients a comfortable, supportive environment to express their mental health concerns.鈥
The special issue contains 13 articles, including a review of research on care for depressed ethnic minorities, a study of urban adults receiving mental health services after exposure to trauma and a study of depression treatment among Latino primary care patients.听
Articles include:
听(PDF, 254KB)
The authors propose a comprehensive, innovative, culturally centered integrated care model to address complexities within the health care system. Their recommendations for health care practitioners emphasize the importance of providing a holistic approach for physical, mental, emotional and behavioral problems among ethnic minorities in a primary care setting.听
Contact:听Kisha Holden听
听(PDF, 114KB)
Culturally adapted mental health treatments are more effective for racial and ethnic minorities than traditional psychotherapy, according to recent research. Despite these advances, mental health treatment disparities among racial and ethnic minorities still exist. This article reviewed 16 culturally sensitive treatments for depression and found that accommodating for language during therapy sessions was critical, in addition to using approaches that were problem-focused and direct. 鈥淐ulturally adapted treatments for depression appear effective in symptom reduction, and ethnic minority clients may be more likely to seek and stay in treatment if they consider the issues discussed in therapy relevant to their culture,鈥 wrote authors Zornitsa Kalibatseva, MA, and Frederick T. L. Leong, PhD, of Michigan State University.
Contact:听Zornitsa Kalibatseva听听
听(PDF, 95KB)
Patients were more likely to seek mental health services if they had social support, had positive attitudes toward treatment seeking, and were unable to work because of a disability, according to this study. Questionnaires were completed by 135 adults living in an urban area with a lifetime history of traumatic stress exposure. Approximately 20 percent were receiving mental health services, primarily at outpatient mental health clinics. Improving attitudes toward treatment seeking as well as identifying work difficulties may be important avenues for improving willingness to seek care and decreasing disparities in care for trauma-exposed adults, wrote the authors Bita Ghafoori, PhD, Dennis G. Fisher, PhD, Olga Koresteleva, PhD, and Madelyn Hong, BA, who are all with California State University, Long Beach. Implications for mental health policy and practice are also discussed.
Contact:听Bita Ghafoori听
听(PDF, 139KB)
A survey of 90 Latino primary care patients whose physicians recommended they undergo treatment for depression found that those who had a good relationship with their doctor were more likely to follow up with the treatment three months later. Patients who were prescribed medication were more likely to follow up with treatment than those who were referred to psychotherapy. 鈥淭he primary care physician, the most familiar and trusted health care provider, together with the mental health specialist can facilitate access and de-mystify mental health care and the patient receives both continuity of care as well as guideline-adherent mental health care,鈥 wrote the lead author, Rachel Zack Ishikawa, PhD, of Clark University.
Contact:听Rachel Zack Ishikawa听
Other articles include:
听(PDF, 84KB), by Crystal L. Barksdale, PhD, Health Determinants and Disparities Practice, SRA International Inc., Rockville, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Jennifer Kenyon, BA, Darci L. Graves, MPP, MA, and C. Godfrey Jacobs, Health Determinants and Disparities Practice, SRA International Inc., Rockville, Maryland
Contact:听Crystal Barksdale
听(PDF, 204KB), by Anne Valentine, MPH, and Darcie DeAngelo, MA, Cambridge Health Alliance; Margarita Alegr铆a, PhD, and Benjamin L. Cook, PhD, Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School
Contact:听Benjamin Cook听
听(PDF, 117KB), by Laurel Bear, PhD, and Rosalie Finer, PhD, 听Alhambra Unified School District; Sisi Guo, MA, and Anna S. Lau, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Contact:听Anna S. Lau
听(PDF, 111KB), by Andrea M. Jones, PhD, Kristen M. Shealy, EdM, Kathryn Reid-Qui帽ones, PhD, Angela D. Moreland, PhD, Tatiana M. Davidson, PhD, Cristina M. L贸pez, PhD, Simone C. Barr, PhD, and Michael A. de Arellano, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
Contact:听Andrea M. Jones
听(PDF, 103KB), by Larissa N. Niec, PhD, Ignacio D. Acevedo-Polakovich, PhD, Emily Abbenante-Honold, PhD, Allison S. Christian, MA, and Miya L. Barnett, PhD, Central Michigan University; Gerardo Aguilar, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan; Samuel O. Peer, MA, Central Michigan University
Contact:听Larissa Niec
听(PDF, 86KB), by Rachel Nichole Casas, PhD, University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles; Edlin Gonzales, MA, University of Southern California; Er茅ndira Aldana-Arag贸n, MA, University of Hawaii, Manoa; Mar铆a del Carmen Lara-Mu帽oz, MD, PhD, Benem茅rita Universidad Aut贸noma de Puebla; Alex Kopelowicz, MD, University of California, Los Angeles; Laura Andrews, Mental Health America of San Diego County; Steven Regeser L贸pez, PhD, University of Southern California
Contact:听Rachel Nichole Casas听or听Steven Regeser L贸pez听
听(PDF, 73KB), by Crista E. Johnson-Agbakwu, MD, MSc, Maricopa Integrated Health System, Refugee Women鈥檚 Health Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona, and Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, Arizona State University; Jennifer Allen Mountain, MD, Park Health Center, Phoenix, Arizona; Jeanne F. Nizigiyimana, MSW, Maricopa Integrated Health System, Refugee Women鈥檚 Health Clinic; Glenda Ramirez, Maricopa Integrated Health System, Refugee Women鈥檚 Health Clinic; Michael Hollifield, MD, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California
Contact:听Crista Johnson-Agbakwu
听(PDF, 85KB), by Kristel Heidi Nazzal, PhD, Marzieh Forghany, MS, M. Charis Geevarughese, PsyD, Venus Mahmoo, MS, Asian Americans for Community Involvement, San Jose, California听
Contact:听Jorge Wong
听(PDF, 93KB), by Julia M. Whealin, PhD, Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu, and University of Hawaii; Eric Kuhn, PhD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, and Stanford University; Robert H. Pietrzak, PhD, MPH, VA Connecticut 听Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, and Yale University
Contact:听Julia Whealin听听
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