MHTTC Pathways
February 2020
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Welcome to the monthly issue of the MHTTC Pathways Newsletter! Please distribute to your contact list and encourage others to subscribe to the latest news from the MHTTC Network.
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African American History Month
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In celebration of February as African American Heritage Month, the following is an excerpt from The Dialogue, the monthly e-newsletter from the Central East MHTTC/ATTC/PTTC located at the Danya Institute, Inc., in Washington, DC.
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Each February, we celebrate African American heritage and the societal contributions of African Americans. The ATTC and its partners praise leaders who either have made or are currently making a difference in their communities, specifically around substance misuse and mental health. African American communities tend to historically experience a more significant burden of mental health and substance use disorders, primarily due to the barriers of treatment caused by lack of access and socio-economic factors [ Addiction Center]. |
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Despite encouraging headlines that report a decline in overdose deaths, rates of overdose deaths are increasing faster in the African American community...During Black History Month it is important to focus on this epidemic within the community and to do so we need to include Black voices in the narrative. We need to engage Black leadership and organizations when creating and implementing strategies and need to recognize the existing barriers to services and continue to work on removing them.
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Specific to mental health, some research suggests a changing landscape of mental illness burden for African-Americans. For example, a number of studies have recently found that suicide attempts and risk for suicide have substantially increased in African-American adolescents, especially African-American boys (e.g., Bridge et al., 2018; Lindsey, 2019; see https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/01/black-youth-suicide).
African-Americans and other minority groups consistently have less access to mental health care and worse quality of care (c.f., American Psychiatric Association, 2017; Office of Minority Health, 2020; Office of the Surgeon General, 2001). Socioeconomic factors, including poverty, mass incarceration, and the United States’ history of discrimination and racism, continue to result in a lack of adequate mental health care in populations needing these vital services.
In addition to disparities in access to healthcare, there are also disparities in the behavioral health workforce. African-Americans are over-represented in social worker and counseling professions, but are underrepresented in psychology and psychiatry and in leadership positions in behavioral healthcare organizations (HRSA, 2017; Office of the Surgeon General, 2001). We need to increase efforts to engage African-American young adults in the behavioral health field, and then recruit and retain them in leadership (Buche et al., 2017).
In honor of African-American History Month, we celebrate African-American behavioral health professionals who have served the community, brought issues of race and disparity to the public’s attention, and advanced our understanding of helping others (e.g., https://www.activeminds.org/blog/10-african-african-american-psychologists-you-should-know/; https://www.mhanational.org/african-american-pioneers-mental-health;
For more information on the African-American behavioral health workforce visit the following web pages: |
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References:
- American Psychiatric Association. (2017). Mental health disparities: African Americans. Retrieved from: https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/mental-health-facts
- Bridge, J. A., Horowitz, L. M., Fontanella, C., et al. (2018). Age-related racial disparity in suicide rates among US youths from 2001 through 2015. JAMA Pediatrics, 172(7). 697-699.
- Buche, J., Beck, A. J., & Singer, P. M. (2017). Factors impacting the development of a diverse behavioral health workforce. University of Michigan, Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center.
- Lindsey, M., Sheftall, A. H., Xiao, Y., & Joe, S. (2019). Trends of suicidal behaviors among high school students in the United States: 1991–2017. Pediatrics, 144(5). e20191187
- Office of Minority Health (US DHHS). (2020). https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=24
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Mental health: Culture, race, and ethnicity—a supplement to mental health: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. (2017). Sex, race, and ethnic diversity of U.S, health occupations (2011-2015). Author: Rockville, MD.
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Suicide prevention strategies among Black youth is the area of focus of the Central East MHTTC. In an attempt to bring awareness to this growing problem, they have engaged Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, Director, McSliver Institute, New York University, and members of his team as subject matter experts. Dr. Lindsey and his colleagues recently published new findings (Lindsey MA, Sheftall AH, Xiao Y, Joe S. Trends of Suicidal Behaviors Among High School Students in the United States: 1991–2017. Pediatrics. 2019;144(5):e20191187) showing the increasing rates of suicide attempts and injuries by attempts. The Central East MHTTC and ATTC, in collaboration with the Great Lakes MHTTC and ATTC, will present a webinar, Dying to Ask for Help: Suicide Trends and Treatment Disparities Among U.S. Adolescents | Third in a Series to discuss the findings.
The following are other resources from the Central East MHTTC and our Network.
Other resources from our partners at the ATTC Network:
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