4 Opportunities to Improve Mental Health in BIPOC Communities – MedCity News

Race and Hispanic ethnicity factor into emergency department (ED) visits for people with mental health disorders, concludes a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among the findings: Black adults visited EDs for mental health-related care almost twice as often as white adults.

Other data also indicate that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) face disparities in mental healthcare. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), for example, therapy for a mental health diagnosis is received by:

Plenty of research supports the fact that mental healthcare inequities exist. The real question is: What can we do to address them?

Hopefully, healthcares collective experience with Covid-19 has taught us how to do things differently. Here are four opportunities to leverage our learnings to improve care for people with mental health disordersespecially within BIPOC communities that contend with racism, discrimination, and other unique mental health stressors.

Opportunity 1: Educate and destigmatize

The BIPOC acronym comprises many distinctly different races, ethnicities, and cultures. However, one common denominator among all BIPOC communities is the pressure and expectation to assimilate into a majority-White society. The desire to deal with it, fit in, and appear strong often causes BIPOC populations to tolerate and even normalize experiences that cause stress, anxiety, fear, and trauma. Stigma worsens the problem by preventing people from talking about mental health and learning the symptoms of mental illness.

Healthcare leaders have an ideal opportunity to educate BIPOC communities and encourage mental health conversations. First, they must understand precisely who comprises their local communities. While the census and other publicly available data provide a good snapshot on paper, a better appreciation of BIPOC communities comes from direct engagement.

For example, in-person occasions to educate BIPOC young peoplesuch as school festivals or health clinicssimultaneously teach about mental health and enable organizations to see communities needs firsthand. Those insights can then be used to ensure that ongoing education accurately reflects the communities served.

Healthcare organizations must invest in efforts to educate their communities about what mental health is, what healthy mental health choices are, and what mental health services are available. Targeted social media campaigns, for instance, could help call attention to mental health conditions and treatments, and explain where to go for mental health services. By explaining conditions such as anxiety, depression, and trauma, providers can help people identify what theyre experiencing.

Opportunity 2: Build trust

Trust is a complex, multilayered issue in healthcare. Within some Black communities, for example, general mistrust of the medical community remains due to injustices such as the unethical Tuskegee experiment and the use of Henrietta Lacks cancer cells without her consent.

No matter why someone distrusts healthcare, their suspicions intensify when their care experience doesnt align with their expectations. Conversely, doubts may ease, and trust may develop if patients fully understand what to expect. Therefore, healthcare organizations should offer a mental health orientation when patients walk through their doors. Patients must understand that the usual course of care for mental health and physical health is not the same.

Patients with physical ailments typically see a provider, get treatment, and get better within a relatively short time frame. In comparison, treatment for mental health conditions such as moderate depression may last many months. Some antidepressant medications take several weeks to begin working, with additional time needed to adjust the dose to achieve the best effect.

To build trust, busy providers must take time to reassure patients and manage their expectations by confirming that:

By setting appropriate expectations, providers can improve patients likelihood of staying in treatment and achieving a positive outcome. In turn, patients success may persuade others within the community to trust providers and seek treatment.

Opportunity 3: Nurture cultural curiosity

Its important to inspire cultural curiosity in everyoneincluding BIPOC providers. I know a lot about being Black, for example, but Ive had very little exposure to Native American communities. Thats why I tried to learn about their mental health needs during my residency.

Healthcare leaders can play a significant role in encouraging cultural curiosity by being intentional about making it an integral part of organizational culture. Some ideas for doing so:

Although many patients indeed want providers with whom they can relate, its also true that people across communities often deal with similar issues. As providers, we must sometimes step forward to put ourselves in other peoples shoes. We must learn about the different groups in our communities and show patients that were interested, curious, willing to learn, and ready to listen. I firmly believe that when we approach care that way, patients will connect with us and be comfortable with us even if we come from different backgrounds.

Opportunity 4: Explore new approaches

Traditional approaches to mental healthcare often fall shortespecially within BIPOC communities where access barriers may be high. Lack of insurance benefits or transportation, prohibitive treatment costs, and few available providers are among many well-known challenges.

Therefore, we must lean into lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to make care easier to access. That may mean exploring continued or expanded partnerships with community organizations and providers, such as:

Finding solutions

Too often today, BIPOC communities must deal with mental health obstacles without the necessary education, support, and coping strategies. Fortunately, healthcare organizations have opportunities to start addressing these challenges by building cultural competency and by strengthening community education, trust, and access.

The situation requires us all to embrace active curiosity. We must be willing to listen, learn, and look honestly at challenges that may differ from our own lived experiences. If we do, we will find common ground. Solutions are out there, if we look.

Photo: Irina Devaeva, Getty Images

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4 Opportunities to Improve Mental Health in BIPOC Communities - MedCity News