Mental Health Disparities in Diverse Workforces
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
Racial/ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities often suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to multiple factors including inaccessibility of high quality mental health care services, cultural stigma surrounding mental health care, discrimination, and overall lack of awareness about mental health. In this article, we highlight 4 ways your organization can reduce mental health disparities in your workforce.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, disparities in mental health are significant and easily documented. Deaths by suicide, for example, are much more common in American Indians and Alaska Natives compared to the general population. The rate of deaths by suicide is also higher in rural areas. Racial/ethnic disparities in health persist today even when comparing groups of similar socioeconomic status. For example, the infant mortality rate for college educated Black women is higher than that for White women with similar education (11.5 vs. 4.2 per 1,000 live births). These and other mental health disparities further disadvantage members of minority groups and increase the burden of mental illnesses on individuals, families, and communities.
So, what can you as an employer of a diverse population, do to help reduce these disparities in mental health?
Address the quality of competent mental health care for underrepresented employee groups. Only about 1 in 3 African Americans who need mental health care receives it. They are more likely to use emergency rooms rather than mental health specialists. Companies should strive for more tailored mental health support for underrepresented employee groups. A more holistic focus needs to also include the mental health care and support needs of communities of color, as well as other underrepresented employee groups, including people who are LGBTQ, parents and caregivers. This would include ensuring access to mental health care providers who are trained to treat race-based stress/trauma and seeking benefits vendors with a provider network that reflects companies’ workforce diversity.
Help reduce the stigma of using mental health services. Stigma or negative ideas about mental health care may prevent people from seeking services. Language in communication products should reflect and speak to the needs of people in the audience of focus. Talk about your own mental health struggles if appropriate and remember to lead by example.
Increase providers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. Whether in insurance coverage, access, or quality of care – lack of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in healthcare are one of many factors producing inequalities in health status in the United States. Despite efforts since the 1970s to increase the number of health professionals in medically underserved areas, members of racial/ethnic minority groups are still underrepresented in the health care workforce and are more likely than Whites to live in neighborhoods that lack adequate health resources. For example, 28% of Latinos and 22% of African Americans report having little or no choice in where to seek care, while only 15% of Whites report this difficulty. African Americans and Latinos are also twice as likely as Whites to rely upon a hospital outpatient department as their regular source of care, rather than a doctor’s office where opportunities for continuity of care and patient-centered care are greater. This is a result of many factors, including the higher rates of uninsured and the limited availability of primary care physicians in some communities of color.
Reduce overall lack of awareness about mental health. Take active steps to increase the reach of mental health information to racial and ethnic minority groups. This should include using culturally responsive communication outlets. Programs like BenefitBump can help reduce mental health disparities by making access to mental health supports more readily available through 1-on-1 conversations with mental health professionals during a time when they need it most, throughout their journey to parenthood and beyond. For more information, contact us.