Using integrated behavioral healthcare to address behavioral health disparities in underserved populations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen O'Loughlin ◽  
Emily K. Donovan ◽  
Zach Radcliff ◽  
Mark Ryan ◽  
Bruce Rybarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Behavioral Healthcare

scholarly journals An Overview of Cancer Health Disparities: New Approaches and Insights and Why They Matter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsion Zewdu Minas ◽  
Maeve Kiely ◽  
Anuoluwapo Ajao ◽  
Stefan Ambs
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Disparities ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Tumor Biology ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
Cancer Health Disparities

Abstract Cancer health disparities remain stubbornly entrenched in the US health care system. The Affordable Care Act was legislation to target these disparities in health outcomes. Expanded access to health care, reduction in tobacco use, uptake of other preventive measures and cancer screening, and improved cancer therapies greatly reduced cancer mortality among women and men and underserved communities in this country. Yet, disparities in cancer outcomes remain. Underserved populations continue to experience an excessive cancer burden. This burden is largely explained by health care disparities, lifestyle factors, cultural barriers, and disparate exposures to carcinogens and pathogens, as exemplified by the COVID-19 epidemic. However, research also shows that comorbidities, social stress, ancestral and immunobiological factors, and the microbiome, may contribute to health disparities in cancer risk and survival. Recent studies revealed that comorbid conditions can induce an adverse tumor biology, leading to a more aggressive disease and decreased patient survival. In this review, we will discuss unanswered questions and new opportunities in cancer health disparity research related to comorbid chronic diseases, stress signaling, the immune response, and the microbiome, and what contribution these factors may have as causes of cancer health disparities.

scholarly journals Mind the Gap: Developing an Integrated Behavioral Health Home to Address Health Disparities in Serious Mental Illness

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 1217-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam C. Tepper ◽  
Alexander M. Cohen ◽  
Ana M. Progovac ◽  
Andrea Ault-Brutus ◽  
H. Stephen Leff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Integrated Behavioral Health ◽  
Health Home

scholarly journals Creating a Culture of Mental Health in Filipino Immigrant Communities through Community Partnerships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aviril Sepulveda ◽  
Dean M. Coffey ◽  
Jed David ◽  
Horacio Lopez ◽  
Kamil Bantol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Drug Misuse ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Mental Health Disparities ◽  
Incredible Years ◽  
Health Action

One out of five children in the United States has a mental, emotional, or behavioral health diagnosis. Behavioral health issues cost America $247 billion per year and those with mental health disorders have poorer health and shorter lives. Evidence-based parenting interventions provided in childhood have proven to be effective in helping parents to prevent disruptive, oppositional and defiant behaviors, anxiety and depressive symptoms, tobacco, alcohol, and drug misuse, aggression, delinquency, and violence. Yet, few parents participate in such programs, especially hard-to-reach, underserved minority and immigrant populations. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has identified a culture of health action framework that mobilizes individuals, communities, and organizations in order to examine ways to improve systems of prevention, invest in building the evidence base for such systems, and provide evidence-based information to decision makers. The overarching goal of this effort was to create a culture of mental health among Filipinos, a large, yet understudied immigrant community that is affected by alarming mental health disparities, including high rates of adolescent suicide ideation and attempts. Our impact project focused on increasing the reach of the Incredible Years® because maximizing the participation of high-risk, hard-to-engage populations may be one of the most important ways to increase the population-level impact of evidence-based parenting programs. If the approach succeeded with Filipinos, comparable strategies could be used to effectively reach other underserved populations in the U.S., many of whom are reluctant to seek behavioral health services. In this chapter we discuss 1) the state of the literature on the topic of Filipino adolescent mental health disparities; 2) our wicked problem and the impact project aimed at ameliorating this issue; 3) how our team formed and implemented our impact project; 4) outcomes and results of our efforts; 5) challenges we faced and how they were overcome; 6) the leadership and health equity skills that were most helpful in addressing our problem; and 7) a toolkit that could assist other communities addressing youth mental health and prevention of suicide and depression.

scholarly journals Behavioral Healthcare Providers’ Experiences Related to use of Telehealth as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Kisicki ◽  
Sara Becker ◽  
Michael Chaple ◽  
David H. Gustafson ◽  
Bryan Hartzler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Web Surveys ◽  
Behavioral Healthcare ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Behavioral Health Workforce

Abstract Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers were forced to shift many services quickly from in-person to virtual, including substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health (MH) treatment services. This led to a sharp increase in use of telehealth services, with health systems seeing patients virtually at hundreds of times the rate as before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.By analyzing qualitative data about SUD and MH care providers’ experiences using telehealth, this study aims to elucidate emergent themes related to telehealth use by the front-line behavioral health workforce.Methods: This study uses qualitative data from large-scale web surveys distributed to SUD and MH providers between May and August 2020. At the end of these surveys, the following question was posed in free-response form: “Is there anything else you would like to say about use of telehealth during or after the COVID-19 pandemic?” The 391 responses to this question were analyzed for emergent themes using a conventional approach to content analysis.Results: Three major themes emerged in the data: COVID-specific experiences with telehealth, general experiences with telehealth, and recommendations to continue telehealth delivery. Convenience, access to new populations, and lack of commute were frequently cited advantages, while perceived ineffectiveness of and limited access to technology were frequently cited disadvantages. Also commonly mentioned was the relaxation of reimbursement regulations. Providers supported continuation of relaxed regulations, increased institutional support, and using a combination of telehealth and in-person care in their practices. Conclusions: This study advanced our knowledge of how the behavioral health workforce experiences telehealth delivery. Further longitudinal research comparing treatment outcomes of those receiving in-person and virtual services will be necessary to undergird organizations’ financial support, and perhaps also legislative support, of virtual SUD and MH services.

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