Mental Health Disparity Assessment 2022

Running Head: MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITY
MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITY1
Part B
Sociocultural context
Depression is the world's number one source of disability. Hispanic women have a
higher risk of depression relative to Caucasian and African American women. This is due in
part to multiple social health determinants impacting people, households, aggregates, and
societies. The identified subpopulation of Hispanic women often face a lot of mental health
disparity with respect to their depression and mental health status (Holden et al., 2014). This
disparity is due to the lack of resources and knowledge among the women. Along with this,
there is a lot of stigma that is associated with the cultural stigma. There is also a lot of stigma
that is related to the mental health doctors who treat the mental illness among the Hispanic
women. Thus, there is lack of cultural competence among the healthcare professionals for the
treatment of mental health disorder (Eaton, 2014).
There are a number of sociocultural factors which suggest that the individuals have a
low economic and educational status. Along with this, there are a number of historical factors
that are relatable for the rising of mental health disparity among the Hispanic women. The
cultural differences can cause the difference in the clinical setting that can lead to the
disparity in the cultural setting (Sabri et al., 2013). It can be due to the differences in the
communication and the lack of reporting incidences in the healthcare setting. Culture
influences the way in which the people impart meaning to their illness or sickness. The
patient who receive mental health treatment might feel differentiated in the way of receiving
treatment. This creates a lot of problem and sometimes creates a gap between the healthcare
providers and the consumers. This is not beneficial for the patients as that limits their chances
of receiving quality of care (Silveira et al., 2014).

MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITY2
The culture of the clinicians and the healthcare service system is also a factor for
influencing the clinical setting. These factors usually shape the interaction of the healthcare
consumer and the mental care patient via the treatment, diagnosis, financing of the services
and the organization where they receive the care (Silveira et al., 2014). It is important to feel
the importance of culture and the beliefs while the treatment of the patients who are
immigrants. It is understood only when the individuals are stranded in the
miscommunications and in the treatment process that makes them feel isolated whenever they
seek care for deterioration in the state of mental health (Dillon, Hussain, Loxton & Rahman,
2013).
Culture is referred to as the set of beliefs and values and norms of the patients as well
as the clinician that might be same or different. When the culture influences the society at a
larger scale then those changes cannot be demarcated easily. Thus, it is stated in a number of
research that culture and social contexts not only help in the determination of the health status
while also in the shaping of the mental health minorities and the services that is being used by
them (Weaver et al., 2015). Hence, the cultural misunderstandings between the patients and
the clinicians, the biasness and the fragmentation of the mental health facilities that prevent
the minorities from using the mental health services and the utilization and access of those
services.
The social and the cultural factors impart significantly to the mental illness and that
can be different in the cases of different mental illness. It is thus the accumulation of the
biological, social, cultural and psychological factors (De Oliveira et al., 2017). The role of
any of these factors can be strong or weak depending on the disorder. These factors are much
more significant in case of depression. The studies highlight the fact that the social and the
cultural factors that includes poverty, violence, and stressful environments are important part
of the factors that cause depression. There are also certain factors like race and ethnicity