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Mental Health
Ethnic Minorities Still Receiving Inferior Mental Health Treatment
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Dec 3, 2014 - 11:05:59 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - WASHINGTON - Primary care that includes mental health screenings and treatments that take into account a patient's 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 Psychological Services, published by the American Psychological Association.

Thirteen years since a U.S. surgeon general's report 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's leading article, "Toward Culturally Centered Integrative Care for Addressing Mental Health Disparities Among Ethnic Minorities." 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.

"More 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," the authors wrote. "Therefore, 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."

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