Summary
Summary: Authors examined the contributions of ethnicity, gender, and English proficiency to unmet mental health need in this cross-sectional study. Participants were Chinese and Latino primary care patients with a preferred language of English, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Spanish. Participants were interviewed within one week of a primary care visit and asked whether in the prior year they (1) needed help with emotional or mental health symptoms and (2) had seen a primary care physician or a mental health professional for these symptoms. Among those who reported “mental health need,” researchers defined “unmet mental health need” as no reported use of services for these symptoms.
Findings: Among 1149 participants (62% women; 262 Chinese, with English proficiency (EP), 532 Chinese, with limited English proficiency (LEP), 172 Latino with EP; and 183 Latino with LEP), 33% reported mental health need. Among Chinese, but not Latino, participants, those with LEP were more likely than those with EP to report mental health need. Women were more likely to report mental health need than men regardless of ethnicity or English proficiency. Among participants reporting mental health need, 41% had unmet mental health need. Men with LEP, compared with those with EP, were more likely to have unmet mental health need regardless of ethnicity.
Authors found high levels of mental health symptoms and unmet mental health need in both Chinese and Latino primary care patients. These results affirm the need to implement depression screening and targeted treatment interventions for patient subgroups at highest risk of untreated symptoms, such as men with LEP.
This study uses data from the 2013–2014 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS).
Read the Publication:
- Journal Article: Unmet Mental Health Need Among Chinese and Latino Primary Care Patients: Intersection of Ethnicity, Gender, and English Proficiency