Access to quality healthcare is a critical factor in preventing and managing mental health disorders. Disparities in healthcare access disproportionately affect marginalized communities, leading to untreated or under-treated psychiatric conditions. 1,2 Barriers such as lack of insurance, lack of transportation, and healthcare provider bias worsen these outcomes. 1
The concept of social determinants of health has great resonance when considering population health and health care. Mental health is no different ().In recent years, there has been a spike in articles covering the importance of the social determinants of mental health (), and there have been countless commissions, reports, and workgroups seeking to better understand how mental health care ...
Our conceptualization of the social determinants of mental health—presented in greater detail elsewhere ()—is shown in Figure 1, which attempts to dissect the driving forces behind social, environmental, and behavioral risk factors for poor physical and mental health, as well as disease and morbidity.It should be noted that our model is focused on conditions in the United States, although ...
The study of mental health has been central to sociology since nearly its inception. Sociologists of mental health are quick to point to this history and to highlight the theme of mental health in some of the discipline’s most ambitious ideas (e.g., Horwitz 2002).Durkheim famously wrote about suicide, casting death by suicide as a product of social arrangements rather than individual ...
The United States (U.S.) spends the highest amount on healthcare globally, at $12,434 per capita, yet experiences poor health outcomes, including lower life expectancy and higher rates of preventable mortality. With a life expectancy of 76.4 years, the U.S. lags behind other high-income countries, which have an average of 81.1 years. Health inequities, especially among marginalized racial and ...
The overall results suggested that diverse aspects of social inequality, including both gender inequality and wealth inequality, evidenced differential impacts on mental health for both genders.
The number of detentions under mental health legislation is growing, disproportionately impacting Black men. Previous research into the over-detention of Black people is repetitive and solutions to reduce disparities are ineffective, not enacted, or outdated. This review is original and novel in using a lived experience lens within the Silences framework, to interpret and validate review ...
For multiracial individuals, experiences of discrimination and its association with mental health can be multifaceted due to challenges of navigating multiple racial identities across their lifecourse, which may intensify feelings of isolation. 47 The association between poorer mental health and being multiracial is complex, involving social ...
While this article focuses on the negative mental health impacts of social injustice on racially and ethnically minoritized populations (a term used to acknowledge that systems of oppression place populations into “minority” status) (), it is important to note that many populations are subject to the harmful mental health impacts of oppression and subjugation.
For patients suffering from severe mental illnesses, ... Income inequality, social deprivation, and mental illness. ... despite a higher total outlay for mental health , but the increase was largely directed toward the criminal justice system and disability payments. By 1993, the number of psychiatric beds had fallen from 34/100,000 population ...
With time to think we can first identify and then address inequalities in access to healthcare, patient experience and health and social outcomes. The Advancing Mental Health Equality (AMHE) framework sets out ways that local commissioners can develop plans to tackle mental health inequalities in their area, with practical suggestions for how ...
The association between social inequality at birth and subsequent risk of schizophrenia is uncertain. Mulvany et al (2001) concluded that low social class at birth was not associated with increased risk of schizophrenia, but views remain divided on the association between social inequality and psychoses and no definite conclusion has been reached.
The year 2020 was indeed a transformative one for America. The COVID-19 pandemic’s physical and mental assaults, increased focus on racial injustice in response to highly publicized Black Americans’ deaths at the hands of police, and a uniquely polarizing presidential election by a deeply divided populace culminated in an overt attack on American democracy.
For centuries, mental ill-health has been overlooked, misunderstood, stigmatised and, for a long time, inappropriately treated. Much of this is now changing, although misunderstanding and stigma are not yet things of the past. As a society, we have some way to go before the extent of mental health problems and their damage to our individual and collective wellbeing is fully recognised and ...
Social exclusion is synonymous with inequality and the aim is to identify and eliminate barriers and stigmatic situations for disadvantaged persons ... All stakeholders were aware of the problem of existing negative views of psychiatric patients, but staff did not talk about the large differences in living conditions between staff and service ...
