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Latino Adults’ Access to Mental Health Care: A Review of Epidemiological Studies

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Abstract

Since the early 1980s, epidemiological studies using state-of-the-art methodologies have documented the unmet mental health needs of Latinos adults in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. This paper reviews 16 articles based on seven epidemiological studies, examines studies methodologies, and summarizes findings about how Latino adults access mental health services. Studies consistently report that, compared to non-Latino Whites, Latinos underutilize mental health services, are less likely to receive guideline congruent care, and rely more often on primary care for services. Structural, economic, psychiatric, and cultural factors influence Latinos’ service access. In spite of the valuable information these studies provide, methodological limitations (e.g., reliance on cross-sectional designs, scarcity of mixed Latino group samples) constrict knowledge about Latinos access to mental health services. Areas for future research and development needed to improve Latinos’ access and quality of mental health care are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Support for work on this article was provided in part by the National Institute of Mental Health Grants R36 MH072172–01 (PI:Cabassa) and T32 MH19960 (PI: Proctor). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2006 Society and Social Work Research Conference, San Antonio, Texas. The authors are grateful for the comments of Enola K. Proctor and Arlene R. Stiffmann on an earlier draft of this paper. The authors thank Vanessa Noriega for assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Leopoldo J. Cabassa (Ph.D) & Marissa C. Hansen

  2. George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Luis H. Zayas

  3. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, 90089-0411, CA, USA

    Leopoldo J. Cabassa (Ph.D)

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  1. Leopoldo J. Cabassa
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  2. Luis H. Zayas
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Correspondence to Leopoldo J. Cabassa.

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Cabassa, L., Zayas, L. & Hansen, M. Latino Adults’ Access to Mental Health Care: A Review of Epidemiological Studies. Adm Policy Ment Health 33, 316–330 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-006-0040-8

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