Social & Economic Factors and Mental Illness in the Caribbean

This report conducts a literature review on the growing prevalence of mental illnesses in Caribbean societies, examining the association between social and economic factors and mental health. It highlights the problem of stigma and the lack of reliable evidence to understand the sources of these problems. The study explores the significance of social and economic determinants of health, drawing on research from Guyana and Brazil. The review discusses the impact of poverty, cultural factors, and religious influences on mental health outcomes. It emphasizes the need for improved mental health policies and strategies in the Caribbean to address the effects of social and economic factors on the increasing prevalence of mental illnesses and the lack of resources and treatment centers. The report concludes by underscoring the pervasive stigma against the mentally ill and its impact on healthcare access.

Running head: HEALTHCARE
HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1
HEALTHCARE
Introduction
The international community distinguishes that mental health is vital to human growth
and has been critical in determining physical health conditions, wellbeing and socio-
economic consequences. There has been increasing concerns regarding the growing
prevalence of mental illness among individuals within the Caribbean regions (Brown &
Bodden, 2017). The following paper will conduct a review of literature focusing on the
significant increase of mental illnesses in Caribbean societies.
Problem statement: Regardless of the higher level of understanding of the increasing rate of
mental illnesses, there has been shortage of reliable evidence in facilitate the understanding of
possible sources of these problems. Similar to other nations, the Caribbean region tends to
elucidate that stigma has been linked to mental illness.
Research question: What is the association of social and economic influences to mental
illnesses amongst populaces of the Caribbean regions?
Literature Review
Social and economic factors are considered as vital determinants of health conditions.
In the study of Lacey, Sears, Crawford, Matusko and Jackson (2016), a multistage probability
research has been showed on heads of households in Guyana whereby lower odds of
depressions amongst more accomplished participants have been found. Considering the
average high poverty rates, it has been expected that several individuals living in the
Caribbean region possibly will experience higher pressure of morbidity as well as early
mortality. On the other hand, Mascayano, Tapia, Schilling, Alvarado & Tapia et al. (2016) by
drawing insights from previous study have hypothesized adapted labelling theory which
elucidates the development by which stigmatization of intellectual illnesses tends to occur.
Furthermore, results of Brazilian studies related to stigma from clinical experts exhibited

2
HEALTHCARE
unconstructive attitude towards individuals suffering from mental illness. It has been found
that in comparison to healthcare professionals from Switzerland, Brazilian clinical
professionals have been promoting less social distance and more positive attitudes (Tenório,
Costa-Moura & Bianco, 2017). At this juncture, in Brazil, ideologies and social values
regarding mental illnesses are prevalent and Christians being primary religion which tends to
serve decisively in order to ameliorate mental disorders (Sancho & Larkin, 2020). Similar
views have been shared by (Brown & Bodden, 2017) who have found that the disadvantaged
socioeconomic groups tend to typically vulnerable to social issues.
Significance of the Study
There has been found a combination of cultural, social and political reasons to explain
factors which led mental health conditions to be disregarded in the Caribbean regions. Social
stigmatization and taboo still remains major issues concerning mental health issues in the
Caribbean region and to overcome is an essentiality of cultural change. The chosen research
question is of great significance as Caribbean regions require improving their mental health
policies and strategies to lessen the impact of social and economic factors on increasing
prevalence of mental illnesses (Tenório, Costa-Moura & Bianco, 2017). There has been
significant lack of resources and lesser treatment centres with equipped workforce, which has
led social stigma related to mental health issues remain as an obstacle to individuals who seek
for healthcare services (Brown & Bodden, 2017). It is important to note that stigma against
the mentally ill populaces have been observed to be highly pervasive and has been expressed
by health care professionals and policymakers.

3
HEALTHCARE
References
Brown, C. M., & Bodden, A. J. (2017). An Examination Of Mental Health Treatment In The
Caribbean: Current State Of Treatment And Future Directions. The Caribbean in a
Changing World: Surveying the Past, Mapping the Future, Volume 1, 1, 231.
Lacey, K. K., Sears, K. P., Crawford, T. V., Matusko, N., & Jackson, J. S. (2016).
Relationship of social and economic factors to mental disorders among population-
based samples of Jamaicans and Guyanese. BMJ open, 6(12), e012870.
doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016- 012870
Mascayano, F., Tapia, T., Schilling, S., Alvarado, R., Tapia, E., Lips, W., & Yang, L. H.
(2016). Stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean: a
systematic review. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 38(1), 73-85.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2015-1652
Sancho, T. N., & Larkin, M. (2020). “We need to slowly break down this barrier”:
understanding the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates
perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK. Journal of Public
Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-12-2019-0099
Tenório, F., Costa-Moura, F., & Bianco, A. C. L. (2017). Psychiatry’s clinical tradition,
psychoanalysis and current practices in mental health. Psicologia USP, 28(2), 206.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-656420150125