One of the beliefs or factors “related to pediatric or perinatal mental healthcare that create barriers to mental health treatment is stigma”. There is a widespread bad reputation for mental health problems in young people and mothers giving birth. A lot of people, including parents, might think getting help for mental health problems makes them weak. This can stop them from saying or doing anything to fix the situation. The other factor is a lack of awareness and education. In various groups, there is often not enough knowledge and understanding about mental health problems. Not knowing might stop people from spotting signs, getting quick help or realizing how important mental health is for overall wellness.
Specific Education Strategies
Community workshops and educational programs are one specific education strategy or resource the PMHNP can provide to clients and families to address these barriers. The PMHNP can set up community lessons or informational activities designed to make people aware of mental health, lessen negative views and offer details on everyday children. This can help families learn more and take early action. The other specific education strategy is online resources and support groups. PMHNP can suggest good online sources like “the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry or the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance” (Bonham & Kwasky, 2021). These places give helpful information and support. Helping or suggesting that parents and caregivers join support groups can make them feel part of a community. This will lessen their loneliness.
Policies that Impact Mental Health
A rule that affects mental health help for kids and teenagers or people in the time just before and after giving birth is “the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)” (Hall et al., 2023). This rule helps mental health services by making sure insurance plans give the same level of help for mental health and drug use problems as they do for medical or surgery needs. However, enforcement issues could stop it from working altogether.
“Advocacy Strategies the PMHNP Could Use to Advance Mental Health Services”
One of the advocacy strategies that “the PMHNP can use to advance mental health services” is policy advocacy. The PMHNP can support efforts to improve current rules or suggest new ones that help children, teens and women get the mental health care they need. This could include working with lawmakers, joining support groups, and teaching the people about these rules. The other strategy is collaboration with other healthcare professionals. The PMHNP can work with doctors for children, school counsellors, and other health helpers to make a team effort for mental health care. This teamwork can result in joined care models, quick spotting of mental health problems and overall treatment plans.
Steps I can Take to Better Understand My Own Bias and Importance
Healthcare providers should also do their best to overcome the prejudices and misconceptions that they have concerning the treatment of prenatal patients and pediatric patients with mental health challenges (Woods et al., 2020). One of the effective steps I can take is to assess their potential assumptions, biases, and personal perceptions that could affect my behavior toward patients.
Understanding my biases, beliefs, and attitudes is essential because it can contribute positively to improved communication and trust rapport. It is also important, as it helps in combating prejudice and ensures that clients of all prenatal and pediatric patients, irrespective of their socioeconomic factors, will have equal opportunities to undergo mental health services.
Student’s Post
You managed to show a deep understanding of the issues surrounding the area by researching and uncovering various challenges faced in prenatal and pediatric mental healthcare. Besides that, you have suggested solutions and done advocacy work on this matter. Regarding the issues that Latino and African American children have to deal with, such as money problems and cultural incompetency (Drissa et al., 2022). You have revealed the important role that language barriers and the affordability of healthcare play in preventing children from getting mental health treatment.
Your proposed educational initiatives, training and the collaborative care model are good ways to address these discussed barriers. As you say, more cultural understanding among practitioners and language accessibility are also important for improving mental health outcomes. You have shed light on the policy element; one great obstacle to mental health care is punitive action for drug usage during pregnancy. This focus on a healing and supportive orientation is consistent with the caring, patient-centered perspective.
Finally, you encompass your advocacy with the inclusion of partnerships with primary care physicians and community engagement within places like schools. This not only recognizes the demand for early intervention but also makes mental care services easier by incorporating it into primary healthcare and schools. Your research demonstrates a profound understanding of the issues and offers concrete recommendations on how to enhance mental health care for adults and children at a perinatal time.
References
Bonham, E., & Kwasky, A. (2021). Caring for the Mental Health of Youth and Families. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 35(5), 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1097/nur.0000000000000620
Hall, S., Zivin, K., Dalton, V. K., Bell, S., Kolenic, G., & Admon, L. K. (2023). Association of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Affordable Care Act on severe maternal morbidity. General Hospital Psychiatry, 85, 126–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2023.10.006
Woods-Giscombé, C. L., Pamela Johnson Rowsey, Kneipp, S. M., Lackey, C., & Bravo, L. (2020). Student perspectives on recruiting underrepresented ethnic minority students to nursing: Enhancing outreach, engaging family, and correcting misconceptions. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(2), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2019.08.006
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