Racial Disparities in Mental Health Care and Ways to Avoid Them
Since the 1960 's, studies have shown that racial disparities in mental health care have been prevalent in the United States. Even though more attention has been placed on these racial disparities, there is still a substantial difference in the health care and treatment that racial minorities receive when compared to white Americans. Institutions, however, such as the University of San Francisco, California, have developed new ways to help doctors realize their own prejudices when working with patients (Dembosky 2014). Thus, there are a numerous amount of ways that a physician or doctor limit the prejudices they face when handling a patient with a mental illness.
The Facts of Disparities in Mental Health Care
Typically, disparities in mental health care are measured by the amount of time that a person spends on treatment annually. In certain studies, such as Le Cook’s study in 2014, however, researchers look at the types of treatments that a patient receives when they go through an “episode” or event of mental health care. Based on Benjamin Le Cook’s study on racial disparities in …show more content…
Kohn-Wood says, “For two decades, clinicians and researchers have worked to reduce healthcare disparities, with at best minimal success” (2014). Just like Le Cook, Kohn-Woods concluded that racial and ethnic minorities were less likely to initiate and seek out treatment for mental health (2014). However, in Kohn-Woods’ study, she researched different ways that a doctor or healthcare specialist could help reduce the number of disparities in the clinical setting. As US demographics begin to change over time, patient populations start to become more diverse, which pushes clinicians to become more culturally competent with the patients they are working with (Kohn-Woods
Since the 1960 's, studies have shown that racial disparities in mental health care have been prevalent in the United States. Even though more attention has been placed on these racial disparities, there is still a substantial difference in the health care and treatment that racial minorities receive when compared to white Americans. Institutions, however, such as the University of San Francisco, California, have developed new ways to help doctors realize their own prejudices when working with patients (Dembosky 2014). Thus, there are a numerous amount of ways that a physician or doctor limit the prejudices they face when handling a patient with a mental illness.
The Facts of Disparities in Mental Health Care
Typically, disparities in mental health care are measured by the amount of time that a person spends on treatment annually. In certain studies, such as Le Cook’s study in 2014, however, researchers look at the types of treatments that a patient receives when they go through an “episode” or event of mental health care. Based on Benjamin Le Cook’s study on racial disparities in …show more content…
Kohn-Wood says, “For two decades, clinicians and researchers have worked to reduce healthcare disparities, with at best minimal success” (2014). Just like Le Cook, Kohn-Woods concluded that racial and ethnic minorities were less likely to initiate and seek out treatment for mental health (2014). However, in Kohn-Woods’ study, she researched different ways that a doctor or healthcare specialist could help reduce the number of disparities in the clinical setting. As US demographics begin to change over time, patient populations start to become more diverse, which pushes clinicians to become more culturally competent with the patients they are working with (Kohn-Woods