• Mental illness is frequently stigmatized and misunderstood
in the African American community. African Americans are much more likely to
seek help though their primary care doctors as opposed to accessing specialty
care.
• African Americans are often at a socioeconomic
disadvantage in terms of accessing both medical and mental health care: in 2006,
one-third of working adult African Americans were uninsured in the preceeding
year.
• Experiences of mental illness vary across cultures, and
there is a need for improved cultural awareness and competence in the health
care and mental health workforce.
• African Americans in the United States are less likely to
receive accurate diagnoses than their Caucasian counterparts. Schizophrenia,
for instance has been shown to be over diagnosed in the African American
population
• Culture biases against mental health professionals and
health care professionals in general prevent many African Americans from
accessing care due to prior experiences with historical misdiagnoses,
inadequate treatment and a lack of cultural under standing; only 2 percent of
psychiatrists, 2 percent of psychologists and 4 percent of social workers in
the United States are African American.
• African Americans tend to rely on family, religious and
social communities for emotional support rather than turning to health care professionals,
even though this may at times be necessary. The health care providers they seek
may not be aware of this important aspect of person life.
• Some studies suggest that African Americans metabolize
some medications more slowly than Caucasian Americans, yet they often receive
higher doses of psychiatric medications, which may result in increased side effects
and decreased medication compliance.
• Social circumstances often serve as an indicator for the
likelihood of developing a mental illness. African Americans are disproportionately
more likely to experience social circumstances that increase their chances of
developing a mental illness.
• With the implementation of various programs and
innovations, African Americans’ patronization rates for mental health services may
be improved.
• Programs in African American communities sponsored by
respected institutions, such as churches and local community groups can
increase awareness of mental health issues and resources and decrease the
related stigma.
• Programs that improve enrollment rates in safety net
health care providers can result in increased mental health care due to improved
mental health coverage in the African American community.
• Encouragement in the community to join mental health
related professions can increase the number of African American mental health
care providers and increase social sensitivity among the provider community.
It is my hope that poliy efforts can work to improve our ability to provide services to the African American community. One effort is to increase my research to better understad barriers towards treatment. Please visit my research website for more information.
Reference:
National Alliance on Mental Illness (2014). African American Community Mental Health. Obtained July 2014 from
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Multicultural_Support1/Fact_Sheets1/AfricanAmerican_MentalHealth_FactSheet_2009.pdf
