title: Racial/ethnic differences in unmet needs for mental health and substance use treatment in a community-based sample of sexual minority women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the unmet needs for mental health and substance use treatment among a diverse sample of sexual minority women (lesbian, bisexual).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Sexual minority women are more likely than heterosexual women to report depression and hazardous drinking. However, relatively little is known about sexual minority women's use of mental health or substance use treatment services, particularly about whether use varies by race/ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of existing data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses included data from 699 Latina, African American and white sexual minority women interviewed in wave 3 of the 17-year Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study. Using logistic regression, we examined the associations among sexual identity, race/ethnicity, use of mental health and substance use treatment, as well as potential unmet need for treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, women in the study reported high levels of depression and alcohol dependence, and these varied by sexual identity and race/ethnicity. Use of mental health and substance use treatment also varied by race/ethnicity, as did potential unmet need for both mental health and substance use treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings that suggest although use of treatment among sexual minority women is high overall, there is a potentially sizable unmet need for mental health and substance use treatment that varies by race/ethnicity, with Latina women showing the greatest unmet need for treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses and other healthcare providers should be aware of the high rates of depression and hazardous drinking among sexual minority women, understand the factors that may increase the risk of these conditions among sexual minority women, the potentially high unmet need for mental health and substance use treatment - perhaps particularly among Latina women and be equipped to provide culturally sensitive care or refer to appropriate treatment services as needed.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Yoo Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.|Center for Research on Women and Gender, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Cindy B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4513-9554
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Veldhuis
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.|Center for Research on Women and Gender, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Tonda L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hughes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Sexual minority women; alcohol use; alcohol use treatment; bisexual women; depression; lesbian women; mental health treatment; unmet need