Latino Disparities in Child Mental Health Services (original) (raw)
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Psychiatric Services, 2002
M ore than 25 years ago, Padilla, Ruiz, and Alvarez (1) provided evidence from multiple sources that Latinos underutilized mental health services. More recent research using state-of-the-art epidemiological methods indicates that the problem of access to services persists for adults (2,3) and children (4) in Latino communities. A failure to address the mental health needs of Latinos results in considerable social and economic loss, as suggested by a report on the global burden of disease that found mental disorders to be among the most disabling illnesses worldwide (5). Considering that Latinos are among the fastest growing minority groups in the United Statesgrowing from 35 million in the year 2000 (6) to an estimated 61 million in 2025 (7)-disparities in mental health
The journal of mental health policy and economics, 2017
BACKGROUND Latino child populations are large and growing, and they present considerable unmet need for mental health treatment. Poverty, lack of health insurance, limited English proficiency, stigma, undocumented status, and inhospitable programming are among many factors that contribute to Latino-White mental health treatment disparities. Lower treatment expenditures serve as an important marker of Latino children's low rates of mental health treatment and limited participation once enrolled in services. AIMS We investigated whether total Latino-White expenditure disparities declined when autonomous, county-level mental health plans receive funds free of customary cost-sharing charges, especially when they capitalized on cultural and language-sensitive mental health treatment programs as vehicles to receive and spend treatment funds. Using Whites as benchmark, we considered expenditure pattern disparities favoring Whites over Latinos and, in a smaller number of counties, Latin...
Latino Children's Mental Health
2019
Research suggests that Latino children are at an elevated risk for a variety of mental health problems (Flores, Fuentes-Affl ick, Barbot, et al., 2002). Latinos are often vulnerable to the deleterious effects of poverty, institutional racism, community violence and other types of psychosocial stressors, which have been linked to negative mental health outcomes (Flisher, Kramer, Grosser, et al., 1997; Saunders, Resnick, Hoberman, et al., 1994). Furthermore, Latino children are likely to face signifi cant barriers to accessing mental healthcare services, such as limited availability of Spanish- speaking providers, diffi culty obtaining and navigating health insurance, and cultural obstacles, such as the belief that mental illness is a spiritual or religious matter. The current paper will: (1) explore specifi c risk factors for mental health disorders among Latino children; (2) examine barriers to appropriate mental health treatment among Latino children; (3) provide an overview of the...
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2002
The authors investigated whether there are disparities in the rates of specialty mental health care for Latinos and African Americans compared with non-Latino whites in the United States. Data were analyzed from the 1990-1992 National Comorbidity Survey, which surveyed a probability sample of 8,098 English-speaking respondents aged 15 to 54 years. Respondents self-identified their race or ethnicity, yielding a sample of 695 Latinos, 987 African Americans, and 6,026 non-Latino whites. Data on demographic characteristics, insurance status, psychiatric morbidity, whether the respondent lived in an urban or a rural area, geographic location, income, and use of mental health services were determined for each ethnic or racial group. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between ethnic or racial group and use of specialty services, with relevant covariates adjusted for. Significant differences between ethnic groups were found in demographic characteristics, geo...
The aim of the study is to examine the rates of mental health service utilization in young Latino children of immigrants in relation to maternal and teacher reports of child mental health need. Specific knowledge is lacking about gaps in service utilization among young Latino children, the fastest growing and possibly the most underserved segment of the US child population. The associations of mental health service utilization (Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents) and mental health need (clinical levels of internalizing, externalizing, or total problems reported by mothers [Child Behavior Checklist] and teachers [Teacher's Report Form]) were examined in a community sample of young Latino children of immigrants (n = 228; mean age = 6) and compared across mothers' and teachers' responses. Mother-teacher agreement was also studied. Sixty-five children (28.5 %) had a mental health need; most (76.9 %) of these received no services. For all types of mental health need, service utilization was more likely when need was reported by mothers rather than teachers (p = .03). Teachers' reports were not associated with service utilization. Motherteacher agreement was low for externalizing (r = .23; p B 0.01) and total problems (r = .21; p B 0.05), and nonsignificant for internalizing problems. This study is the first in the United States to document, in such a young Latino group, high rates of unmet need comparable to those among older Latino youth; low or no mother-teacher agreement on which children had a mental health need; low utilization of school-based services; and a lack of association between service utilization and teacher-reported mental health need-both for externalizing and internalizing problems. These findings suggest that schools are not effectively leveraging mental health services for young Latino children. Potential factors responsible for the findings are discussed.
Latino Adults’ Access to Mental Health Care: A Review of Epidemiological Studies
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 2006
Since the early 1980s, epidemiological studies using state-of-the-art methodologies have documented the unmet mental health needs of Latinos adults in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. This paper reviews 16 articles based on seven epidemiological studies, examines studies methodologies, and summarizes findings about how Latino adults access mental health services. Studies consistently report that, compared to non-Latino Whites, Latinos underutilize mental health services, are less likely to receive guideline congruent care, and rely more often on primary care for services. Structural, economic, psychiatric, and cultural factors influence Latinos' service access. In spite of the valuable information these studies provide, methodological limitations (e.g., reliance on cross-sectional designs, scarcity of mixed Latino group samples) constrict knowledge about Latinos access to mental health services. Areas for future research and development needed to improve Latinos' access and quality of mental health care are discussed.
Persistence of Mental Health Service Use among Latino Children: A Clinical and Community Study
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 2007
This study examined predictors of treatment persistence (receiving mental health services at two time points one year apart) among children in Puerto Rico who had previously sought care for mental health concerns. Children and their primary caregivers completed interviews one year apart. Treatment persistence was lower among children recruited from community sampling (n = 137) than those children recruited from public and private clinics (N = 381). Persistence was associated with psychological measures of need and comorbidity only in the clinical sample, while in both samples persistence was associated with measures of family burden and school functioning. In multivariate analyses, persistence was associated in both the clinical and community samples with a measure of school functioning but not with diagnosis, impairment, or parental concerns about the child's behavior. Keywords Latino Á Hispanic Americans Á Children Á Mental health Á Health services research Á Delivery of health care Á Continuity of patient care Á Puerto Rican Á Family Á Burden Á Academic Á Child psychiatry Á Community Á Clinical
Latino Education Disparities and Effects on Latino Child Mental Health
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2023
This study examines the current state of Latino education and mental health disparities in public elementary schools and aims to develop a framework, which schools can utilize to offer culturally relevant services to students and their families. The framework focuses on the roles of student cultures, identities, and families throughout their academic journey. Methods consisted of interviews with teachers and therapists around cultural issues being addressed by schools, programs which could help bridge the gap of underutilized mental health services, and funding issues. The collected data suggests that culture can be used as a primary asset of relating services and curriculum to students, allowing them an opportunity to feel better represented in what is being taught in public schools. Similarly, mental health resources and activities which appeal to student cultures grant families access to services which now can better relate to past experiences and cultural ideals. The study found that a framework that holds culture at the forefront can create an environment which students can relate to, while the entire family is offered mental health services which are relevant to their cultural ideals and life experiences.
Priority issues in Latino mental health services research
Mental health services research, 2001
This paper identifies issues and trends affecting the quality and comprehensiveness of Latino mental health research and services. These issues include current patterns of need and services use, rapid expansion of the Latino population, extraordinary rates of uninsured, social and language barriers to care, transformation in treatment science and technology, and the sheer complexity and rapid changes in the delivery system. Progress in the field requires coordination and investments from both public and private sectors. Scientific journals should provide assistance for creating a high quality knowledge base and rapidly disseminating this information to students, practitioners, and policy makers. Vigorous activity is needed to (1) augment the supply of people entering the "pipeline" for researcher and practitioner training, and (2) support research in priority areas such as outcome studies for diverse treatments and different sectors of care, cultural competence, treatment ...