Policy Points In a recently commissioned report on solutions for eliminating racial and ethnic health care inequities entitled Ending Unequal Treatment, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found a health workforce that is representative of the communities it serves is essential for health care equity. The Supreme Court decision to ban race-conscious admission constraints pathways toward health workforce representativeness and equity. This paper draws on the National Academies report's findings that health care workforce representativeness improves care quality, population health, and equity to discuss policy and programmatic options for various participants to promote health workforce representativeness in the context of race-conscious admissions bans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany organizations persist in working with others that engage in known, remediable structural discrimination. We name this practice interorganizational structural discrimination (ISD) and argue it is a pivotal contributor to inequities in science and medicine. We urge organizations to leverage their relationships and demand progress from collaborators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLack of accountability contributes to the gap between best practices and potential outcomes. Few mental health providers routinely practice evidence-based care. In fact, within the mental health field, there is significant controversy over the use of evidence-based practices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
November 2022
In recent years, there has been a greater emphasis on examining the factors, particularly the social factors, that affect health outcomes and contribute to population health inequities. The social determinants of health, as defined by the World Health Organization, are "the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and develop, and the wider set of forces, including economic policies, social norms, and political systems, that shape the conditions of daily life and impact health outcomes." The social determinants of mental health (SDoMH) are similar, but include the added societal stigma associated with mental health and substance use disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Online resources represent an important avenue to identify and support individuals who may be experiencing symptoms of psychosis but have yet to engage in care. Understanding the experiences and needs of this group is critical to inform outreach for early psychosis and improve outcomes by addressing barriers to early treatment.
Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective, explorative, cross-sectional analysis by using data collected by Mental Health America as part of their online psychosis screening and support program.
This study examines the numbers of scientists who are underrepresented in medicine serving on editorial boards and in leadership positions in peer-reviewed psychiatry/neuroscience journals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe complex interactions between the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, structural racism, and mental health inequities have led to devastating health, economic, and social consequences. The intersection of these three conditions, which meets criteria for a syndemic (synergistic epidemics), presents numerous policy challenges-and opportunities. Addressing these issues in a unified manner, using a syndemic theory approach, can lead to significant progress and effective solutions for otherwise intransigent problems in society.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEven with great advances in behavioral health policy in the last decade, the problems of mental illness and addiction persist in the United States-so more needs to be done. In this article, which is part of the National Academy of Medicine's Vital Directions for Health and Health Care: Priorities for 2021 initiative, we describe the steps needed to improve outcomes, focusing on three strategies. We argue for transforming the behavioral health system to meet people where they are, decriminalizing mental illness and substance use disorders to facilitate recovery, and raising awareness of social context and social needs as essential to effective care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith a growing understanding of how racism negatively affects the mental health of patients, mental health professionals are as anxious to act as they are uncertain about the best path forward. This uncertainty persists even though thoughtful, actionable antiracist recommendations in psychiatry were made 50 years ago. Mental health professionals can take several antiracist actions, including acknowledging individual and structural racism through an examination of racist policies, to achieve mental health equity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStructural racism is pervasive in U.S. society, and academic medicine is not immune to the effects of this disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychiatr Serv
September 2020
Classification as primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention is based on when during the course of disease the intervention is provided. Another approach to classification-as universal, selective, or indicated preventive interventions-relates to who receives the intervention. The social determinants of health framework also provides a guide to prevention, which requires changing both public policies and social norms.
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