What Is the Psychiatrist’s Role in Addressing Mental Health Inequities?

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth S. Shim ◽  
Sarah Y. Vinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Inequities

‘Apps are cool but generally pretty pointless’: LGBTIQ+ young people’s mental health app ambivalence

2019 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Byron
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Australian Study ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Potential Development ◽  
Health Agenda

This article considers the potential development of mental health apps for LGBTIQ+ young people. It reports on data from an Australian study of LGBTIQ+ young people’s mental health help-seeking experiences. Participants (aged 16–25 years) highlighted the potential value of mental health apps, yet also questioned the need for another digital intervention. Addressing stigma around mental health was seen as a greater priority for many, as was addressing the inadequate mental health information and support available to LGBTIQ+ young people through schools and mainstream health services. Participants noted that a mental health app must not only be useful, reliable and accessible but also actively sought, which was sometimes unlikely. This article questions a contemporary public health agenda for developing digital solutions to complex social problems. Furthermore, it asks whether health inequities and social stigma can be addressed by apps that typically prioritise the practice of individualised self-care.

scholarly journals Mental Health Inequities among Transgender People in Aotearoa New Zealand: Findings from the Counting Ourselves Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 2862
Author(s):  
Kyle K.H. Tan ◽  
Sonja J. Ellis ◽  
Johanna M. Schmidt ◽  
Jack L. Byrne ◽  
Jaimie F. Veale
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Population ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Trans Women ◽  
Distress Scale

There has been little international research looking at differences in mental health across different age groups. This study examines mental health inequities between transgender people and the Aotearoa/New Zealand general population from youth to older adulthood. The 2018 Counting Ourselves survey (N = 1178) assessed participants’ mental health using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders, questions that were the same as those used in the New Zealand Health Survey. Our results showed significant mean score differences for transgender people on K10, and these differences were almost two standard deviations higher than the general population (Cohen’s d = 1.87). The effect size differences, however, decreased from youth to older adults. Regression analyses indicated trans women were less likely to report psychological distress than trans men and non-binary participants. There was an interaction effect for age and gender, with lower psychological distress scores found for younger trans women but higher scores for older trans women. The stark mental health inequities faced by transgender people, especially youth, demonstrate an urgent need to improve the mental health and wellbeing of this population by implementing inclusive institutional practices to protect them from gender minority stress.

Decriminalizing LGBTQ+: Reproducing and resisting mental health inequities

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 667-686
Author(s):  
Tyler M. Argüello
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Minority Stress ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Queer People ◽  
Social Inequities ◽  
Two Spirit

Secure settings are not queer because lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, Two Spirit, and asexual (LGBTQ+) people populate them, and neither are LGBTQ+ people inherently criminal because they are found in those spaces. Queer people bear disproportionate health, mental health, and social inequities that have had, historically and currently, the effect to criminalize them. This review discusses effective language and ideologies when working with LGBTQ+ people in secure settings. Major health, mental health, and social inequities are reviewed, along with the applied framework of minority stress. Then, the process of criminalization is diagrammed across the phases of predetainment, being in the system, and through re-entering the community. Finally, multilevel strategies are offered to decriminalize LGBTQ+ people ideologically and in practice.

It’s Time to Consider LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychology in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
pp. 263183182110604
Author(s):  
Kyle K. H. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Misconceptions

International studies have revealed stark mental health inequities affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. While there is increasing awareness of higher prevalence of mental health difficulties among LGBTQ people in Malaysia, this issue has often been viewed through a cisheterosexist (cisgenderism and heterosexism) lens that criminalizes, pathologizes, marginalizes, and/or delegitimizes noncisgender and nonheterosexual forms of identities. Informed by LGBTQ-affirmative psychology, this viewpoint aims to scrutinize the common misconceptions surrounding the living experiences of Malaysian LGBTQ people; these include poor mental health among LGBTQ people, victim-blaming narrative of sexual violence, LGBTQ is a mental illness, and LGBTQ is a Western influence. This viewpoint draws on empirical and theoretical research, as well as international guidelines, to debunk these misconceptions. Recommendations are also provided for psychology practitioners and researchers to embark on the journey to supporting Malaysian LGBTQ people in a culturally safe manner.

scholarly journals Inequities in mental health and mental healthcare between international immigrants and locals in Chile: a narrative review

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Blukacz ◽  
Báltica Cabieses ◽  
Niina Markkula
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
International Migrants ◽  
Social Determinant Of Health

Abstract Mental health in a context of international migration is a particularly pressing issue, as migration is recognised as a social determinant of physical and mental health. As Chile is increasingly becoming a receiving country of South-South migration, immigrants face mental health inequities, with regards to outcomes and access to care. In order to identify and synthetize mental healthcare inequities faced by international migrants with regards to locals in Chile, a narrative review of the literature on national mental healthcare policies in Chile and a narrative review of the literature on migrants’ mental healthcare in Chile were conducted, with a focus on describing mental health outcomes, policy environment and persisting gaps and barriers for both topics. The existing literature on mental healthcare in Chile, both for the general population and for international migrants, following the social determinant of health framework and categorised in terms of i) Inequities in mental health outcomes; ii) Description of the mental health policy environment and iii) Identification of the main barriers to access mental healthcare. Despite incremental policy efforts to improve the reach of mental healthcare in Chile, persisting inequities are identified for both locals and international migrants: lack of funding and low prioritisation, exacerbation of social vulnerability in the context of a mixed health insurance system, and inadequacy of mental healthcare services. International migrants may experience specific layers of vulnerability linked to migration as a social determinant of health, nested in a system that exacerbates social vulnerability. Based on the findings, the article discusses how mental health is a privilege for migrant populations as well as locals experiencing layers of social vulnerability in the Chilean context. International migrants’ access to comprehensive and culturally relevant mental healthcare in Chile and other countries is an urgent need in order to contribute to reducing social vulnerability and fostering mechanisms of social inclusion. International migration, social determinants of mental health, mental health inequities, social vulnerability, review.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document