Advisor

David Cole

Course

Practice-Informed Research in Health Systems

Document Type

Capstone

Publication Date

Fall 12-1-2024

Purpose

The Latino community urgently needs mental health services, as evidenced by the alarming statistic that “nearly one in four Latino youth have depressive symptoms” (Banda et al., 2024, p. 2). This puts them at higher risk for substance use, suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety (Banda et al., 2024). As the Latino population becomes the fastest-growing minority group, mental health services must be created and adapted to serve this community. It is essential to reduce the disparities in accessing mental health services to create more equitable and inclusive services. Clinicians should implement adequate, supportive, culturally adaptive, and responsive care in behavioral health interventions to increase the utilization of mental health services by the Latino community.

Methods

To gain insight into the barriers that Latinos have in accessing mental health services, 11 mental health clinicians who work in a non-profit setting serving the Latino community in the Central Valley of California participated in this research. Participants completed an open-ended, semi-structured interview after completing a demographic and professional survey using a Google Form. Interviews were recorded using Zoom to generate a transcript. Subsequently, the researchers conducted independently thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes as they emerged from the data.

Findings & Conclusions

Barriers identified in the interviews with clinicians include 1) stigma toward mental health services in Latino culture; 2) practical barriers, such as transportation and basic needs prioritization (e.g., food, housing, job responsibilities); 3) lack of clinicians who are Latino and lack of services available in Spanish; 4) low clinician cultural competence and humility; and 5) lack of knowledge of services and access available to services in rural Latino communities. By recognizing the barriers to mental health services faced by the Latino community, clinicians and organizations can strive to develop and implement programs that are tailored to reach Latino families, not only individuals. Programs should be created to reduce inequities and barriers. To reach the Latino community with mental health services, providers need to create a culturally inclusive approach to therapy that considers how they can reach the client in their preferred location with more convenient hours, in a language that they understand, and with a therapist who has cultural knowledge and cultural humility.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are intended to increase the utilization of mental health services in the Latino community:

  • Create programs and providing trainings focusing on mental health education in Spanish to enable clinicians the use of appropriate terminology in their therapy sessions with Spanish-speaking clients.
  • Encourage clinicians to develop cultural knowledge and practice cultural humility.
  • Expand clinic operating hours and days and increase telehealth or home visit services, particularly in rural communities.
  • Utilize community health workers or promotoras to provide non-clinical mental health services and community support initiatives to strive to reduce cultural stigma associated with mental health services.
  • Increase funding for stipends and scholarships to incentivize mental health clinicians to work in rural communities.
  • Integrate mental health services with primary care.

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2. N_Valdovinos A_Thomazin.pdf (557 kB)
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