Health Disparities Analysis

Health disparities related to access to mental health care services continues to be a growing concern for the field of nursing and other healthcare professions. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) (2016b), 20% of people living in the United States (U.S.) currently struggle with mental illness. Despite the goals of Healthy People 2020 (2016) to improve mental health through prevention and access to care, significant disparities still exist. Substantial cuts have occurred in national and state funding of mental health services across all 50 states. The result has been multiple community and hospital based facilities closing their doors causing an even greater gap in access to care for patients seeking mental healthcare
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has allowed states to opt into a Medicaid Expansion which would afford mental health coverage to a larger population, specifically those who do not meet the requirements of poverty, but are still considered poor or near poor (NAMI, 2016a). Unfortunately, not every state has opted into the program, and the states that have are not held to any standards for the quality or level of care these people receive (NAMI, 2016a). A study by Guerrero, Fenwick, Yinfei, Grella, D’Aunno, and Kong (2015) found significant health disparities and gaps in access to care for racial and ethnic minority groups (ie., Hispanic, Latitno, and African-American) in regards to accessing and retaining mental health and addiction services. Another recent study by Operario, Gamarel, Grin, Ji Hyun, Kahler, Marshall, and Zaller (2015) found that even though sexual minorities (ie., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other non-heterosexuals) have greater odds of mental health disorders than people who identify as heterosexual, they often have greater disparities in access to mental health services. Additionally, a study by Steinman et.al (2012) found that only 25% of children with a strong need for mental health services had access to care within the last
For these reasons it is imperative for nursing to focus on community-based interventions related to increasing access and use of mental health services. Every community is unique, and for this reason, interventions need to be developed based on the communities’ specific cultural, ethnic, and racial composition. Mental health disorders are associated with increased prevalence and progression of many chronic diseases including: heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2016). Nurse leaders can have a positive impact on the ability of this population to obtain needed access to care through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. Through community-based interventions this population can have increased access to care resulting in them leading longer, healthier