Racial Inequality In Mental Healthcare

A new study found that despite having a similar rate of mental health problems as white students, Black students are less likely to receive proper mental health treatment.

The ‘menace’ called racism has found its head in the area of healthcare in America. It is more disheartening to note that it affects a sensitive aspect of the health system – mental health. With a number of rising mental health issues, a racial element has been found to be the basis upon which Blacks are given less mental health attention.

To further substantiate the claim of racism in mental health care, Dr. Lyndonna Marrast, formerly of the Harvard Medical School, conducted an intensive research. Data for the research is based on information taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey in which all the 50 states in America between the years of 2006 and 2012. The researchers examined the data of children aged under-18 and young adults aged between 18 and 34.

The findings showed that Blacks made 49 percent fewer visits to psychiatrists as compared to white children. When it came to visiting mental health professionals, the number comes down to 47 percent. The findings are no different from that of the adults when surveyed.

Indeed, in this country to be a mentally ill Black or Hispanic is not an easy task. And the Black children experience the injustice of school system even at pre-school. Rather, Blacks are to be given better mental health care but that hasn’t been the case.

The health sector of America is a really biased one that favors only the ‘white-skinned’ folks. This is so unfair to humanity. The study showed that minorities while being vastly overrepresented in the criminal justice system, were underrepresented when it came to receiving mental health treatment.

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