Top

Published in:

01-02-2011 | Original Paper

Community-Based Mental Health Service Utilization Among Low-Income Latina Immigrants

Authors: Laila Hochhausen, Huynh-Nhu Le, Deborah F. Perry

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 1/2011

Abstract

Latina immigrants may be at increased risk for mental illnesses, but have less access to and seek mental health services less often than Black and White counterparts. Guided by the Andersen Behavioral Model of service utilization, the current study employed a medical chart review to elucidate factors associated with use of mental health services at a community health center. Of the clients referred for mental health services, only 36% followed through on the referral. Older age, use of case management services, and depressive symptomatology were predictors of attending mental health services. These findings have implications for community health and mental health providers.

In an effort to equally represent the population being described, the term ‘Latino/a’ will be used to describe men and women of Latin American descent rather than the term ‘Latino,’ a masculine form of the word commonly used to describe individuals of both genders. Where appropriate, the gender-specific (Latino or Latina) term will be used.

Aday, L., & Andersen, R. M. (1974). A framework for the study of access to medical care. Health Services Research, 9, 208–220.PubMed

Alderete, E., Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S. (1999). Depressive symptomatology: Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors among Mexican migrant farmworkers in California. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 457–471.CrossRef

Alegría, M., Canino, G., Ríos, R., Vera, M., Calderón, J., Rusch, D., et al. (2002). Inequalities in use of specialty mental health services among Latinos, African Americans and non-Latino whites. Psychiatric Services, 53, 1547–1555.CrossRefPubMed

Alegría, M., Mulvaney-Day, N., Woo, M., Torres, M., Gao, S., & Oddo, V. (2007). Correlates of past-year mental health service use among Latinos: Results from the National Latino and Asian American study. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 76–83.CrossRefPubMed

Alegría, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P. E., Woo, M., Duan, N., Vila, D., et al. (2008). Prevalence of mental illness in immigrant and non-immigrant US. Latino groups. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 359–369.CrossRefPubMed

Alvidrez, J. (1999). Ethnic variations in mental health attitudes and service use among low-income African American, Latina, and European American young women. Community Mental Health Journal, 35, 515–530.CrossRefPubMed

Alvidrez, J., & Azocar, F. (1999). Distressed women’s clinic patients: Preferences for mental health treatments and perceived obstacles. General Hospital Psychiatry, 21, 340–347.CrossRefPubMed

Andersen, R. M. (1995). Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: Does it matter? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 1–10.CrossRefPubMed

Blanco, C., Patel, S. R., Liu, L., Jiang, H., Lewis-Fernandez, R., Schmidt, A. B., et al. (2007). National trends in ethnic disparities in mental health care. Medical Care, 45, 1012–1019.CrossRefPubMed

Fiscella, K., Franks, P., Doescher, M. P., & Saver, B. G. (2002). Disparities in health care by race, ethnicity, and language among the insured. Medical Care, 40, 52–59.CrossRefPubMed

Folsom, D. P., Gilmer, T., Barrio, C., Moore, D. J., Bucardo, J., Lindamer, L. A., et al. (2007). A longitudinal study of the use of mental health services by persons with serious mental illness: Do Spanish-speaking Latinos differ from English-speaking Latinos and Caucasians? American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1173–1180.CrossRefPubMed

Gameroff, M. J. (2002). Psychopathology and social impairments as predictors of mental health treatment seeking in a low-income urban primary care population. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 63, 1561.

Garrett, C. R., Treichel, C. J., & Ohmans, P. (1998). Barriers to health care for immigrants and non-immigrants: A comparative study. Minnesota Medicine, 81, 52–55.PubMed

González, J. M., Alegria, M., & Prihoda, T. J. (2005). How do attitudes toward mental health treatment vary by age, gender, and ethnicity/race in young adults? Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 611–629.CrossRef

Grant, B. F., Hasin, D. S., Stinson, F. S., Dawson, D. A., Ruan, W. J., Goldstein, R. B., et al. (2005). Prevalence, correlates, co-morbidity, and comparative disability of DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder in the USA: Results from the National epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. Psychological Medicine, 35, 1747–1759.CrossRefPubMed

Harris, K. M., Edlund, M. J., & Larson, S. (2005). Racial and ethnic differences in the mental health problems and use of mental health care. Medical Care, 43, 775–784.CrossRefPubMed

Hasin, D. S., Goodwin, R. D., Stinson, F. S., & Grant, B. F. (2005). Epidemiology of major depressive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 1097–1106.CrossRefPubMed

Heilemann, M. V., Frutos, L., Lee, K. A., & Kury, F. S. (2004). Protective strength factors, resources, and risks in relation to depressive symptoms among childbearing women of Mexican descent. Health Care for Women International, 25(1), 88–106.CrossRefPubMed

Hochhausen, L., Perry, D. F., & Le, H. N. (2008). From the inside out: Understanding limited mental health service use among Latina immigrants. The Community Psychologist, 41, 49–52.

Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173–202.CrossRefPubMed

Jang, Y., Kim, G., & Chiriboga, D. A. (2005). Health, healthcare utilization, and satisfaction with service: Barriers and facilitators for older Korean Americans. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53, 1613–1617.CrossRefPubMed

Katragadda, C. P., & Tidwell, R. (1998). Rural Hispanic adolescents at risk for depressive symptoms. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 1916–1930.CrossRef

Kimerling, R., & Baumrind, N. (2005). Access to specialty mental health services among women in California. Psychiatric Services, 56, 729–734.CrossRefPubMed

Le, H. N., Lara, M. A., & Perry, D. F. (2008). Recruiting Hispanic Women in the U.S. and women in Mexico in postpartum depression prevention research. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 11(2), 159–169.CrossRefPubMed

Leclere, F. B., Jensen, L., & Biddlecom, A. E. (1994). Health care utilization, family context, and adaptation among immigrants to the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 25, 370–384.CrossRef

Logan, J. R. (2001). The New Latinos: Who they are, where they are. Press Conference Advisory, Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research, State University of New York at Albany.

Mali, D., & Hudson, K. J. (1988). A note on waiting list attrition. Behaviour Change, 5, 171–174.

Marotta, S., & Garcia, J. (2003). Latinos in the United States in 2000. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25, 13–34.CrossRef

McMillen, J. C., Scott, L. D., Zima, B. T., Ollie, M. T., Munson, M. R., & Spitznagel, E. (2004). Use of mental health services among older youths in foster care. Psychiatric Services, 55, 811–817.CrossRefPubMed

Minkler, M. (2005). Community-based research partnerships: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Urban Health, 82, ii3–ii12.PubMed

Miranda, J., Siddique, J., Der-Martirosian, C., & Belin, T. R. (2005). Depression among Latina immigrant mothers separated from their children. Psychiatric Services, 6, 717–720.CrossRef

Moussavi, S., Chatterji, S., Verdes, E., Tandon, A., Patel, V., & Ustun, B. (2007). Depression, chronic diseases, and decrements in health: Results from the World health surveys. Lancet, 270, 851–858.CrossRef

Preen, D. B., Holman, C. D., Lawrence, D. M., Baynham, N. J., & Semmends, J. B. (2004). Hospital chart review provided more accurate comorbidity information than data from a general practitioner survey or an administrative database. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 57, 1295–1304.CrossRefPubMed

Pyne, J. M., Kuc, E. J., Schroeder, P. J., Fortney, J. C., Edlund, M., & Sullivan, G. (2004). Relationship between perceived stigma and depression severity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 278–283.CrossRefPubMed

Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.CrossRef

Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Piacentini, J., Van Rossem, R., Graae, F., Cantwell, C., Castro-Blanco, D., et al. (1999). Treatment adherence among Latina female adolescent suicide attempters. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 29, 319–331.

Ruiz, P. (2002). Commentary: Hispanic access to health/mental health services. Psychiatric Quarterly, 73, 85–92.CrossRefPubMed

Sadock, B. J., & Sadock, V. A. (2003). Synopsis of psychiatry/behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA, US: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Salgado de Snyder, V. N., Cervantes, R. C., & Padilla, A. M. (1990). Gender and ethnic differences in psychosocial stress and generalized distress among Hispanics. Sex Roles, 22, 441–453.CrossRef

Scheppers, E., van Dongen, E., Dekker, J., Geertzen, J., & Dekker, J. (2006). Potential barriers to the use of health services among ethnic minorities: A review. Family Practice, 23, 325–348.CrossRefPubMed

Stern, G., & Brown, R. (1994). The effect of a waiting list on attendance at initial appointments in a child and family clinic. Child: Care, Health and Development, 20, 219–230.CrossRef

US Department of Health and Human Services (1999). Mental health: A report of the surgeon general. Rockville, MD, US: Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/fact3.asp.

Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., & Catalano, R. (1999). Gaps in service utilization by Mexican Americans with mental health problems. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 928–934.PubMed

Vera, M., Alegría, M., Freeman, D. H., Robles, R., Pescosolido, B., & Peña, M. (1998). Help seeking for mental health care among poor Puerto Ricans: Problem recognition, service use, and type of provider. Medical Care, 36, 1047–1056.CrossRefPubMed

Wang, P. S., Lane, M., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A., Wells, K. B., & Kessler, R. C. (2005). Twelve-month use of mental health services in the United States. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 629–640.CrossRefPubMed

Weinick, R. M., Zuvekas, S. H., & Cohen, J. W. (2000). Racial and ethnic differences in access to and use of health care services, 1977 to 1996. Medical Care Research and Review, 57, 36–54.PubMed

Wells, K., Klap, R., Koike, A., & Sherbourne, C. (2001). Ethnic disparities in unmet need for alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health care. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 2027–2032.CrossRefPubMed

West, C. M., Kantor, G. K., & Jasinski, J. L. (1998). Sociodemographic predictors and cultural barriers to help-seeking behavior by Latina and Anglo American battered women. Violence and Victims, 13, 361–375.PubMed

Title: Community-Based Mental Health Service Utilization Among Low-Income Latina Immigrants
Authors: Laila Hochhausen
Huynh-Nhu Le
Deborah F. Perry
Publication date: 01-02-2011
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 1/2011
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9253-0

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Community-Based Mental Health Service Utilization Among Low-Income Latina Immigrants

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2011

Parents’ Conceptualization of Adolescents’ Mental Health Problems: Who Adopts a Psychiatric Perspective and Does It Make a Difference?

An Analysis of Relationships Among Peer Support, Psychiatric Hospitalization, and Crisis Stabilization

The Role of Percieved Parent Monitoring and Support on Urban Child and Adolescent Problem Behavior

Acculturation, Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Immigrants in New York City

Carrying the Burdens of Poverty, Parenting, and Addiction: Depression Symptoms and Self-Silencing Among Ethnically Diverse Women

Reducing Disparities in Mental Health Care: Suggestions from the Dartmouth–Howard Collaboration