Introduction
The incidences of mental problems in the US are almost similar among the general population. Both minority populations and whites suffer similar mental illness problems, but there exist disparities between African Americans regarding health care services and access. Minority groups receive a substandard quality of care because access to culturally competent care is a huge problem. The statistic indicates that just one in four Americans seeking mental health care get it (Eproson, 2021). Compared to other races, like non-Hispanic whites, black people with mental diseases have a reduced rate of accessing most mental health services, such as drug prescription and outpatient services (Eproson, 2021). Therefore, it is vital to know the extent of mental health disparities among African Americans. In carrying out this study, it is essential to look at statistical data on mental health disparities. The paper looks at root cause of disparities in mental health of Arrican Americans, and appropriate interventions to close the gap in their access to mental health services.
Research Question
To what extend is access mental health service provided for African Americans in the US?
Literature Review
This section focuses on a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles on mental health disparities among African Americans. The the recent census provided in the research of Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences shows that African Americans form the second largest group of ethnic minorities in the United States population and are considered black (2022). The minority of African Americans across the country, have diverse cultures. For instance, their culture varies depending on the place of origin, like the Caribbean, immigrants from African countries, Central America, and other nations. According to Eproson (2021), about 28% of the African American population in the US are considered poor and constitute the most significant percentage of those living below the poverty level at 27% compared to 10% of the non-Hispanic Whites. Nearly 30% of African American homes have a female as head of the family without a husband, compared to about 7% of white homes (Eproson, 2021). Moreover, the researhcer claims that out of the entire African American population, about 12% are uninsured, compared to 5% of other ethnic minorities like non-Hispanic whites. This statistcs leads to a serious concern in the medical field.
Seven million African Americans report having experienced a mental health illness in their lives. Though this number is similar to incidences reported among the white population, African Americans are twice likely to suffer long-term and persistent mental illness than whites. Black persons below the poverty level are more likely to suffer chronic mental distress. In contrast, black young men’s risk of attempting or committing suicide is 9.8% higher than it is among white teenagers at 6% (Eproson, 2021). On the same note, according to Weinstein et al., (2017) African Americans are twice likely to suffer from schizophrenia than whites. In addition, a significant percentage of black people are exposed to violence, thus increasing their risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (Weinstein et al., 2017). Eproson (2021) posits that only 10% of African Americans aged 12 years with substance use and mental disorder receive treatment. Thus, despite the increasing need for mental health care services among African Americans, only one in four black persons seeking mental health services get it.
Notably, demographic data on American homes and neighborhoods reveals that African Americans are eight times more likely to reside in dense poverty neighborhoods with limited or no mental healthcare access. Moreover, black persons are most unlikely to obtain guided and consistent mental illness and treatment care. In addition, access to care becomes expensive because of the high cost of emergency room care for situational intervention. In contrast, the white population has access to proper mental health facilities and services, making them more likely to access mental health doctors providing long-term care support. Inferences made in multiple systematic literature reviews reveal that access to good mental health care for blacks is limited by several factors (Eproson, 2021). Many social determinants and long-term structural inequities constrain black people’s access to proper mental health care. Therefore, efforts should be directed toward making access to quality mental health services by black people available and affordable.
Cause of Mental Health Disparities among African Americans
Despites the government’s efforts to promote access to mental health services among blacks and other ethnic minority groups, obstacles remain great disablement regarding access to affordable and quality care. Armstrong Mensah et al. (2020), the experienced health disparities among African Americans are not random but rather a byproduct of the structural system and consistently interacting variables. The most common barriers include stigmas linked to mental disorders, lack of coverage or undercover, provider discrimination, care inequality, and other socioeconomic disparities.
Stigma is a significant factor that makes it difficult for a patient to seek mental health services. The stigma is pronounced in African American cultures, particularly ethnic minorities. Eproson (2021) indicates that about 57% of the African American ethnic minority perceive mental diseases as a personal weakness. Moreover, anxiety or mild depression is considered ‘crazy’ in certain ethnic social circles, and discussing mental health matters is regarded as inappropriate even in the family units.
African Americans face the problem of underinsurance or lack of it. The healthcare coverage in the US is nearly half of the country’s population offered by employers. The employers, therefore, understand the enormous cost of failure to tackle the mental health issues of their employees. According to Eproson (2021), in the 2019 peer review study, the accumulated cost of treating depressive disorder was about $240 billion. This was a significant increase since 2005, and the high cost of care continues to make mental health expensive and challenge access for all races.
However, low income levels among African Americans make it challenging to acquire health insurance. Based on a 2018 report reviewed by Eproson (2021), about 12% of black adults report Americans had no health insurance plan. Therefore, black minorities are most likely to suffer exclusion from health care and proper education, which further contributes to deteriorating mental health outcomes. Covid and African Americans (2022) report that black adults are more likely to fail to attend an appointment with specialists in mental health compared to other ethnic groups. In addition, the shortages of medical professionals in mental health facilities intensify the access problem. It, therefore, means more mental health clinicians should be trained to help achieve necessary behavioral health staffing levels, especially in the black neighborhood mental health facilities.
African Americans have long been segregated and affected by historical bias and discrimination in the country’s healthcare system. Unfortunately, many black people still encounter such negative experiences when seeking therapeutic services after many years. Notably, the prejudice by providers and lack of cultural competency can most likely lead to misdiagnosis and poor treatment (Armstrong Mensah et al., 2020). The outcome is mistrust of mental health specialists, which further discourages people from seeking mental health services. In addition, African Americans are likely to identify physical symptoms linked to mental health. For instance, a black person may describe pain and muscle aches as depression. Such a culturally incompetent mental health provider may fail to acknowledge such symptoms as a mental health illness. Furthermore, black men are most likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia when describing symptoms linked to mood disorders or post-traumatic stress order.
Racism, inequity, and discrimination can highly affect individisorderdual mental health. Perceiving or treating a person as ‘less than’ due to skin color can be traumatizing and stressful. Members of the African American minority ethnic group face several structural difficulties in obtaining the care and offering the therapeutic service needed (Armstrong Mensah et al., 2020). African Americans are most likely to have chronic symptoms of hopelessness, sadness, and a feeling like almost everything is an effort (Covid and African Americans, 2022). Further, those living below the poverty line will likely suffer more complex psychological distress than those with enough income or financial security.
Interventions to Reduce Disparities in Access to Mental Health Service
In response to the increasing concern about key healthcare disparities that African Americans face, there is a need for all stakeholders to work together to alleviate these barriers. For instance, the American Psychological Association has suggested a series of intervention measures to promote health equity in substance use and mental health. According to Eproson (2021), one of the most effective interventions is to promote culturally competent mental services to people of color and other ethnic minority groups. Further measures are designed to establish positive programs and relationships with people of color to promote mental health awareness while preventing environmental factors that may expose an individual to risk. Moreover, increasing funding for mental health professionals and training programs will ensure adequate specialists to attend to a huge population.
In addition, the government should work towards integrating primary and mental health care for black patients. According to the Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, strengthening such integration among primary care and behavioral health is an effective approach to improving mental and physical health outcomes (2022). The integration will serve the best interest of minority blacks by altering the perception of mental illness as distinct from other chronic illnesses such as hypertension or diabetes. Changing the conversation to perceive mental health conditions as manageable and treatable chronic medical illnesses will greatly lower stigma and improve engagement in the treatment. All mental health care providers should not only acknowledge the mistrust of black people in mental health care but also educate them on its relevance (Covid and African Americans, 2022). Moreover, a collaborative care model will promote a relationship between behavioral health and primary care providers.
Conclusion
Based on the literature review in this paper, mental health disorders are a problem for all races, and both white and black people have similar mental illnesses. However, African Americans have disparities in access to mental health services. The leading factor to these disparities is inequity in providing mental health services, fewer mental health facilities in a black neighborhood, and high cost of care. Addressing these barriers by integrating primary care with behavioral and physical health will reduce the cases of mental health illness and help close disparities in access to quality and affordable mental health care. Though the government carries out many interventions to address the mental health disparities among African Americans, only little outcome is recorded. Therefore, there is a need to investigate why the interventions implemented are not yielding expected returns.
References
Armstrong Mensah, E., Patel, H., Parekh, P., & Lee, C. (2020). Mental health inequities and disparities among African American adults in the United States: The role of race. Research in Health Science, 5(3). Web.
Covid and African Americans: Addressing disparities in mental health. (2022). American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 8. Web.
Eproson, C. (2021). Mental health stigma in African American communities in the United States. Wiley.
Weinstein, J. N., Geller, A., Yamrot Negussie, Baciu, A., & The, I. (2017). Communities in action : pathways to health equity. The National Academies Press.