title: Mental health status and use of mental health services by California adults.
abstract: In 2005, nearly one in five adults in California, about 4.9 million people, said they needed help for a mental or emotional health problem. Approximately one in 25, or over one million Californians, reported symptoms associated with serious psychological distress (SPD). Of those adults with either perceived need or SPD, only one in three reported visiting a mental health professional for treatment. This policy brief, based on data from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2005), presents the first comprehensive overview of mental health status and service use in California, and highlights differences by age, gender, race/ethnicity, income and insurance status. It also demonstrates the critical need for continued efforts to expand mental health services and threats to such services caused by the ongoing state budget crisis.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kravitz-Wirtz
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Gaxiola
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Sribney
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: E Richard
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology