BIPOC Mental Health Month 2022 Week 3

Stephanie Weatherly, DNP, PMH RN-BC, FACHE

Chief Clinical Officer

July 18, 2022

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) exists with the mission to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs to help eliminate health disparities? OMH was founded in 1986 and continues today. OMH has three overarching programmatic priorities:

1. Supporting states, territories, and tribes in identifying and sustaining health equity-promoting policies, programs, and practices
2. Expanding the utilization of community health workers to address health and social service needs within communities of color
3. Strengthening cultural competence among healthcare providers throughout the country

The OMH also publishes data annually to highlight health disparities that exist and/or are being reduced. Let’s look at the current data regarding Hispanic persons. This ethnic group includes any person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. According to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, 60.5 million Hispanics live in the United States. This group represents 18.4 percent of the U.S. total population. It is significant to note that Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group within the United States. In 2019, the Census Bureau reported that 50.1 percent of Hispanics had private insurance coverage compared to 74.7 percent of non-Hispanic whites.

• The death rate from suicide for Hispanic men was four times the rate for Hispanic women in 2018.
• However, the suicide rate for Hispanics is less than half that of the non-Hispanic white population.
• In 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 15 to 34.1.
• Suicide attempts for Hispanic girls, grades 9-12, were 30 percent higher than for non-Hispanic white girls in the same age group in 2019.
• In 2018, Hispanics were 50 percent less likely to have received mental health treatment than non-Hispanic whites.
• Poverty level affects mental health status. Compared to Hispanics over twice the poverty level, Hispanics living below the poverty level are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress.

OMH also has developed the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care. This guide can be accessed here to learn more about the proposed steps to decrease BIPOC health disparities in the mental health arena.

There is a free training tomorrow called Racism and our Families’ Health: Connecting the Dots. You can register here.

Thank you for all you do to reach all people in need and provide culturally competent care!