Barriers to mental health care for Hispanic Americans: a literature review and discussion.
The Hispanic American population, the second largest and fastest growing minority population in the United States, faces barriers to access to both medical health and mental health care. This paper examines both financial and cultural barriers to utilization of mental health care services; it is a broad review of the literature and is not intended to be comprehensively detailed. The research review suggests that the financial barrier is a major determinant of mental health service access for Hispanic American populations. Also, nonfinancial barriers such as acculturation are examined. A two-part plan is suggested to reduce both financial and nonfinancial barriers. Very little literature on utilization of substance abuse services was found; suggestions for further research are thus proposed.
Woodward
A M
AM
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD 20857.
Dwinell
A D
AD
Arons
B S
BS
D000069:Acculturation; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000208:ethnology; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States