Mental Health Needs and Service Utilization by Hispanic Immigrants Residing in Mid-Southern United States
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: This study assessed mental health needs and service utilization patterns in a convenience sample of Hispanic immigrants. Design and Method: A total of 84 adult Hispanic participants completed a structured diagnostic interview and a semistructured service utilization interview with trained bilingual research assistants. Results: In the sample, 36% met diagnostic criteria for at least one mental disorder. Although 42% of the sample saw a physician in the prior year, mental health services were being rendered primarily by religious leaders. The most common barriers to service utilization were cost (59%), lack of health insurance (35%), and language (31%). Although more women than men met criteria for a disorder, service utilization rates were comparable. Participants with a mental disorder were significantly more likely to have sought medical, but not psychiatric, services in the prior year and faced significantly more cost barriers than participants without a mental disorder. Conclusions: Findings suggest that Hispanic immigrants, particularly those with a mental illness, need to access services but face numerous systemic barriers. The authors recommend specific ways to make services more affordable and linguistically accessible.
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Hispanic persons frequently seek mental health services from primary care settings compared to other resources.
“evidence suggests that Hispanic persons frequently seek mental health services from primary care settings compared to other resources (Bridges et al., 2012; Vega & Lopez, 2001).”
From Perceived Discrimination, Experiential Avoidance, and Mental Health among Hispanic Adults in Primary Care (2022) · cites this paper as Bridges et al., 2012
The Results (Service Utilization; page unavailable) say primary care was the most-used health service overall, but only 4 of 34 physician visitors reported depression or anxiety as the reason. The Abstract (Results; page unavailable) says mental health services were rendered primarily by religious leaders, contrary to the claim that primary care was used more than other resources for mental health services. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Zvolensky, M. J., Rogers, A. H., Mayorga, N. A., Shepherd, J. M., Bakhshaie, J., Garza, M., Viana, A. G., Ochoa-Perez, M., Lemaire, C., Ruiz, A., et al. (2022) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/13634615211038159 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“…individuals tend to present with somatic complaints in relation to psychological distress (e.g., Varela et al., 2007) and evidence suggests that Hispanic persons frequently seek mental health services from primary care settings compared to other resources (Bridges et al., 2012; Vega & Lopez, 2001).”
BackgroundVázquez, A. L., Culianos, D., Flores, C. M. N., Alvarez, M. D. L. C., Barrett, T. S., & Domenech Rodríguez, M. M. (2022) · Child & Youth Care Forum · doi:10.1007/s10566-021-09656-8 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Vázquez, A. L., Navarro Flores, C. M., Alvarez, M. D. L. C., & Domenech Rodríguez, M. M. (2021) · Journal of Latinx Psychology · doi:10.1037/lat0000192 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bridges, A. J., Andrews, A. R., & Deen, T. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Transcultural Nursing
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-07-16
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 359-368
- ISSN
- 1043-6596 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7832
- PMC
- PMC4060822
- OpenAlex
- W2153050961
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 4.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Transcultural Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH018869)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration, Identity, and Health
- Keywords
- Latino immigrants, mental health needs, mental health service utilization, barriers to care, cost barriers, lack of health insurance, language barriers, religious leaders, mental health services, mental illness, gender differences
- MeSH terms
- Acculturation, Adult, Arkansas, Mental Disorders, Female, Health Services, Health Services Accessibility, Health Services Needs and Demand, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Male, Psychometrics, Residence Characteristics, United States, Transcultural Nursing, Patient Satisfaction, Health Care Surveys, Emigrants and Immigrants, Cultural Competency
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