title: Review of disparities in the mental health care of ethnic minority patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to demographic changes, Western societies are increasingly multicultural and diverse. These changes lead to the issue of the equity of care for all groups of society, particularly for ethnic minorities. Within the context of medicine, it has been proven that doctors are sensitive to patient ethnicity, and that this in turn affects doctors' decision-making and the quality of their relationship with the patient. This leads to reduced access and quality of care for ethnic minority patients, which in turn magnifies ethnic inequalities in health care. Little is known about the extent of this issue within the specific field of mental health care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a literature search within three online databases, focusing on two main questions: (I) What are the main types of disparity observed in the provision of mental health care for ethnic minority patients? and (II) How do mental health care providers contribute to disparities in the mental health status of ethnic minority patients?
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified a total of 164 articles relevant to our research questions, published between 1989 and 2013. Of these, only 29 were retained. The main findings are summarised in this paper.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mental health care providers should be constantly aware of potential bias due to patient ethnicity and of the potential impact of this bias on the process of care if they want to act in the best interests of patients and avoid contributing to mental health disparities. The contribution of mental health care providers to these disparities is only one aspect of this complex social issue.
authors.affiliation: Université Catholique de Louvain, Psychopathology and Psychosomatics Unit, Mont-Godinne University Hospital, 1 avenue du Docteur Gaston Thérasse, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium, brice.lepiece@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Brice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lepièce
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zdanowicz
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reynaert
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tordeurs