Purpose Statement
The aim of this analysis is to pinpoint the reasonableness of developing an effective system to help low-income urban populations with a lack of mental health services. Through national, state, regional, and city-level data, we seek to demonstrate the huge scale of this problem and hence demand high-level and carefully targeted interventions needed to counter this public health issue.
Background
The distress of mental health is aggravated by the factor of the already low-income urban population, eventually leading to a chain of poverty and inequality. It is arguably the case that there has been a lot of progress in the treatment of mental health disorders; however, gaining access to these services remains a major issue for the most vulnerable groups. Restricted health care makes things worse, especially among people belonging to disadvantaged groups, further leading to unfortunate health outcomes and failing health. Pursuing the elimination of these inequalities gives rise to a holistic apprehension of the factors that generate injustice and the barriers to accessing mental health services.
Priority Population Description
The chosen population comprises low-income urban residents, especially those who dwell in underprivileged communities but have minimal healthcare resources. The core census data demonstrates this group’s main socio-economic woes, including a high unemployment rate, low education level, and inadequate health care coverage, aside from the fact that racially and ethnically disadvantaged communities endure serious obstacles in their quest to take advantage of mental health services because of the perpetuated systemic faults and prejudices.
Assessment of Priority Population
In other words, the approach of the target population assessment, as shown by Mongelli, Georgakopoulos, and Pato (2020), depicts how the underserved and disregarded populations struggle to acquire mental health services in the United States. Social factors, including poverty, substandard housing conditions, poor nutrition, and exposure, severely affect communities and exacerbate mental health disparities. Another issue is that structural barriers such as lack of transportation, cultural stigma, and language barriers are the additional hurdles that make access to appropriate treatment more difficult. In line with their report, Coombs et al. (2021) indicate that access to healthcare services for mental illness is severely hindered by barriers, such as lacking insurance coverage, high cost of treatment, and transportation difficulties, which happen across the whole country.
The chosen determinants demonstrate the multi-dimensional nature of the underprivileged community’s hurdles. Illness as a consequence of poverty, substandard housing, and limited resources to healthcare services negatively affect psychological health as well as their ability to access and pay for mental health services. Likewise, food insecurity and exposure to violence elevate stress hormones, which lead to the worsening of any existing mental health issues. On top of these, the individuals suffering from mental health issues face the structural barriers of lack of transportation facilities and cultural stigma, creating more hurdles than initially, which widens the gap of access to mental health care.
An unbiased assessment of these determinants has demonstrated the biological truth that emphasizing the comprehensivity of interventions for marginalized groups should surround community efforts toward fighting inequities and achieving social justice. Recognizing and accommodating these determinants can enable interventions to specifically identify the underlying causes of unequal provision of mental health and consequently lead towards developing communities where everyone has equal access to health care. This wide-focused approach is in conformity with the principles of health equity, emphasizing the crucial aspect of social determinants, which is essential to realizing optimal mental health outcomes among the entire population.
Disparity in Access to Mental Health Services
Research reveals that there is a high level of mental health service utilization disparities in the country, with low-income people and minorities having greater challenges accessing treatment (Coombs et al., 2021). The data of State and local governments is projected to be more revealing, as they are situated in areas that show clear differences in unmet mental health needs of certain neighborhoods. Even though they are very useful, the existing community health services often don’t address the specific needs of the low-income urban community. As a consequence, service provision gaps exist, and thus, the inequality issue remains unresolved.
References
Coombs, N. C., Meriwether, W. E., Caringi, J., & Newcomer, S. R. (2021). Barriers to healthcare access among U.S. adults with mental health challenges: A population-based study. SSM-Population Health, 15, 100847. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100847
Mongelli, F., Georgakopoulos, P., & Pato, M. T. (2020). Challenges and opportunities to meet the mental health needs of underserved and disenfranchised populations in the United States. Focus, 18(1), 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20190028
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