The Statistics
African Americans
•
African Americans are 20% more likely to have
serious psychological distress than non-Hispanic Whites.
•
African Americans are half as likely as non-Hispanic
Whites to receive antidepressant prescription treatments.
•
The suicide rate among African Americans ages 10 to
14 increased 233% from 1980-1995, as compared to 120% of Non-Hispanic Whites.
American
Indians/Alaska Natives
•
Adolescent American Indian/Alaska Native females
have four times the death rate due to suicide than non-Hispanic White females
in the same age group.
•
In 2009, suicide was the second highest cause of
death among American Indian/Alaska Natives between the ages of 10-34.
•
Violent deaths (i.e. unintentional injuries,
homicide, and suicide) make up 75% of all deaths during the second decade of
life among American Indian/Alaska Natives.
Asian
Americans/Pacific Islander
•
Asian American women over 65 years old have the
highest suicide rate of all women in the same age group in the United States.
•
Southeast Asian refugees are prone to suffer from post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of immigrating to the U.S. One study found
that 70% of Southeast Asian refugees receiving mental health care were
diagnosed with PTSD.
•
(National Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander mental
health data is limited at this time.)
Hispanic/Mexican
American
•
Suicide attempts for Hispanic high school girls are
70% higher than for non-Hispanic White girls in the same age group.
•
Hispanics are half as likely as non-Hispanic Whites
to received mental health treatment.
(Office
of Minority Health, 2013)
Serious psychological distress among adults 18 years of age and over,
percent, 2009-2010
African Americans
|
American Indian/
Native American
|
Asian Americans
|
Hispanic
|
Mexican American
|
Non-Hispanic White
|
3.8
|
5.2
|
1.6
|
3.6
|
2.8
|
3.1
|
Suicidal ideation
among students in grades 9–12: Percent of students who seriously considered
suicide
African Americans
|
American Indian/
Native American
|
Asian Americans
|
Hispanic
|
Non-Hispanic White
|
|
Male
|
7.8
|
14.3
|
17.1
|
10.7
|
10.5
|
Female
|
18.1
|
29.9
|
21.1
|
20.2
|
16.1
|
Suicidal ideation
among students in grades 9–12: Percent of students who attempted suicide
African Americans
|
American Indian/
Native American
|
Asian Americans
|
Hispanic
|
Non-Hispanic White
|
|
Male
|
7.7
|
10.0
|
7.0
|
6.9
|
4.6
|
Female
|
8.8
|
19.9
|
15.0
|
13.5
|
7.9
|
Total
|
8.3
|
14.7
|
10.8
|
10.2
|
6.2
|
Why are minorities disproportionally
affected?
According to the Office of Minority Health
(OMH), evidence points to a constant inequality in the health status of
minorities when compared to the general population of the United States. In part, this is attributed to the much
higher rates of poverty among minorities (when compared to non-minorities). A
report by the U.S. Surgeon General indicates that living in poverty
has the greatest impact on mental illness rates; poor people are two to three times more likely to have a
mental illness. This means that not
only are minorities more likely to be poor, they are also more likely to have a
mental illness as well.
Other factors that contribute to the higher rates of mental illness
among minorities include: racism, discrimination, lack of access to health
care, lack of preventative care, lack of insurance, and lack of
culturally/linguistically competent health care providers/services. In many cases, lack of access to preventative
care and lack of insurance delays diagnosis.
When minorities finally seek medical care, their illness may be more chronic
and require more care than non-minorities.
Possible Solutions
While racism, discrimination, shame, and stigma prevent many members of
minority populations from seeking help, those who seek medical care go to a
primary care setting. Therefore, it is
important that primary care physicians go through training that gives them the
tools they need to help these patients.
In addition, it is important to have culturally and linguistically
competent health care providers at primary care settings.
While these options may help solve some problems, they do not completely
eliminate health inequities among minorities.
Policies related to social determinants of
health have a great influence on health care use. Therefore, policy advocacy is also an
important factor to achieve health equity through social justice.
Community Organization at Work
The California Reducing Disparities Project (funded by the
Mental Health Services Act) focuses on reducing disparities among
minorities. Specifically, they focus on
five populations: African Americans; Asian/Pacific Islander; Latinos; Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ); and Native Americans. To help reduce disparities, a Strategic
Planning Workgroup (SPW) was created for each population to provide
the California Department of Mental Health with community-defined evidence and
strategies that are population-specific.
The Latino SPW consists of researchers, policy makers,
public mental health leaders, consumers and advocates, community health leaders,
ethnic services managers, and education professionals. Together they have developed a long-term
research and policy agenda to help reduce disparities in mental health services
for Latinos in California. The Latino
SPW has created several goals including:
Short-term
Outcomes
• Increase knowledge and awareness of systems, providers, communities,
schools, and resources toward prevention and early intervention
• Infuse Latino SPW recommendation into all MHSA funded programs
• Conduct a series of statewide workshops and training sessions on
implementation of Latino SPW recommendations
• Design metrics and measures to assess the impact of community defined solutions
• Establish local capacity-building panels aimed at reducing Latino mental
health disparities
Long-term
Outcomes
• Access to timely and high quality health care services
• Develop a culturally and linguistically competent mental health workforce
• Design integrated mental health and primary care services that are
culturally and linguistically appropriate
• Employ community capacity building that promotes the connection of
community strengths and health
• Create an educational campaign designed to reduce stigma and social
exclusion
(Aguilar-Gaxiola,
Loera, Méndez, Sala, Latino Mental Health Concilio, & Nakamoto, 2012, p. 12)
Latino
SPW Matrix of Organizations with Community-Defined Evidence Programs
(Aguilar-Gaxiola,
Loera, Méndez, Sala, Latino Mental Health Concilio, & Nakamoto, 2012, p.
47-50)
Information provided by:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health
Mental Health Data & Statistics
Mental Health 101
&
University of California Davis Center for Reducing Health
Disparities
Community-Defined Solutions for Latino Mental Health Care
Disparities: California Reducing Disparities Project
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/pdf/latino_disparities.pdf
