The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #58128

Abdin Noboa-Rios, PhD, Research and Evaluation Department, IQ Solutions, Inc., 11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 801, Rockville, MD 20852, 301-984-1471, anoboa@iqsolutions.com

While African American and Latinos represent some of the lowest rates of utilization of mental health services among racial populations, particular subgroups are in great need of mental health care. Inner-city African Americans have higher rates of psychotic diagnosis, Puerto Ricans suffer from particular rates of “ataques de nervios,” Chicanos exhibit more than twice the national rate of depression, while El Salvadorans exceed 3 times the need for outpatient mental health services from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) increased mental health services to high need groups who are 1) primarily unaware of the distinction between mental health and primary care; 2) adversely affected by economic, linguistic, and cultural barriers to mental health care; and 3) highly resistant to mental health care due to misperceptions that mental illness is equated with craziness (“estar loco”) and the associated stigma for persons who seek mental health care.

In a statewide effort to create a culturally competent system of care, ODMH has 1) designed an organizational culturological assessment tool to assess the degree of organizational cultural competence among mental health agencies in selected counties; 2) provided specific T-A to those organizations; 3) convened statewide conferences to raise awareness about culturally competent services, and 4) provided resources and information on viable approaches/strategies for mentally ill populations of color.

Learning Objectives:

• Utilize an organizational cultural competence assessment tool to identify organizational barriers.
• Learn to use the model in both assessment and diagnosis of service delivery.
• Understand how the model can be used to improve mental health care to disenfranchised populations of color.

Keywords: Mental Health, Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.