Alspaugh, A., Lanshaw, N., Kriebs, J., & Van Hoover, C. (2021). Universal health care for the United States: a primer for health care providers. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 66(4), 441-451.
The article highlights the benefits of the universal healthcare model in the United States in reducing the cost of healthcare services, which are majorly paid out of pocket. The payment approach affected people with low income, people of color, and those residing in rural areas. The authors explained the impacts of COVID-19 on the healthcare system, increasing health disparities based on race and ethnic background and lower- and middle-class families.
The healthcare system, which is an employer-based insurance system in the US, was severely affected by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic since most people lost their jobs. The system is also unjust and only serves some of the residents unequally. Additionally, they express the functions of universal health insurance in providing healthcare justice to all Americans. The out-of-pocket payment for healthcare services is unstable, making universal healthcare an important approach to providing secure and accessible healthcare services to all the population.
Carpini, J. (2021). Benefits of a basic income for employees experiencing a mental health condition. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(4), 569-572. Web.
Carpini addressed the benefits of basic income for individuals with mental illness. Mental illness among the population was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby affecting employees’ productivity. The article pointed out that work is a major determinant of mental health, and it can be used in promoting recovery for mental health patients.
The author argues that the provision of a basic salary to employees will attenuate the effect of mental illness. The benefits of basic income will eliminate the financial barriers to accessing mental treatment by working individuals. It will also aid the patients in negotiating alternative work arrangements where they will be given time for recovery and a gradual return to work. The last benefit of basic income is employee compensation and financial buffer, which comes from mental health disclosure and reduces the social stigma.
Coombs, N. C., Meriwether, W. E., Caringi, J., & Newcomer, S. R. (2021). Barriers to healthcare access among US adults with mental health challenges: A population-based study. SSM-Population Health, 15. Web.
The study objective was to investigate the prevalence of barriers for US adults with or without mental illness and assess the relationship between mental health challenges and lack of access to care. The authors applied a cross-sectional study and collected data from the National Health Interview Survey, which was classified as severe, moderate, and no psychological distress.
No usual source of care was used as the primary outcome, while the quantified data was the eight barriers. The associations between the collected data were quantified using multivariate regression analysis. The study findings indicated that the common barrier to healthcare access is financial cost, which is closely linked to mental health illness. However, other environmental and social effects on mental health were not investigated.
Green, J. G., McLaughlin, K. A., Fillbrunn, M., Fukuda, M., Jackson, J. S., Kessler, R. C.,… & Alegría, M. (2020). Barriers to mental health service use and predictors of treatment drop out: Racial/ethnic variation in a population-based study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 47, 606-616. Web.
The study investigated the different racial/ethnic perceptions of mental healthcare treatment, its barriers, and motives for dropout. The study participants were sampled through survey data and represented Americans aged 18 and above comprising whites, blacks, Latinos, and Asians. The measurements were mental health diagnostic assessment, barriers to treatment, reason for dropout, and race/ethnicity. The data was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and computation of standard errors and percentages.
The study results showed that Asians and Latinos have a lower perception of the need for mental treatment compared to whites and blacks. Similarly, Latinos and Asians were most likely to drop out due to finances and availability, respectively. Also, the blacks were least expected to drop out on undesirable experience grounds compared to the whites.
Harris, K. M., Majmundar, M. K., & Becker, T. (Eds.). (2021). High and rising mortality rates among working-age adults. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Web.
The book’s purpose was to explain the falling life expectancy of working US residents, which was attributed to increased mortality due to suicide, drugs and alcohol, and cardiovascular diseases. Other factors that contributed to the death of working citizens were nervous system diseases, transport injuries, liver cancer, and homicides, which had a higher combined outcome. Mortality is caused by the acute and long-term accumulation of factors that are linked to biological, social, environmental, economic, and behavioral. The authors explained the rise of midlife mortality in rural areas driven by poor midlife health, socioeconomic factors, and healthcare access inequalities. The mortality disproportions are very high between large metropolises and low-occupied areas, which started with whites, but recent data show a consistent rise in black mortality cases.
Nathaniel Counts. (2023). Understanding the U.S. behavioral health workforce shortage. Commonwealth Fund. Web.
The article by the Commonwealth Fund outlines that at least half of Americans will experience behavioral health conditions in their lives. However, the number of health professionals with behavioral health qualifications is limited, which denies residents timely access to care. The behavioral health professionals include licensed mental health providers, clinical supporters, frontline workers, and community care workers. The challenge was also caused by low investment in public and private insurance and with low or lack of coverage in behavioral health care.
The most affected populations are those living in rural areas and low-income cities, where some counties lack a practicing psychiatrist. Also, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries had challenges in getting care from providers who accept the insurance. Similarly, marginalized groups like people of color, LGBTQ, and non-English speakers had difficulty in getting appropriate care.
Schillinger, D. (2021). Social determinants, health literacy, and disparities: Intersections and controversies. HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice, 5(3), e234-e243.
The article explores the social hindrances and measures of health literacy and further seeks evidence on how health literacy is a factor linking health outcomes, disparities, and social disadvantages. The findings indicated that health literacy contributes to health disparities through social determinants of health like ethnic/racial status and lower educational achievement. Health literacy facilitates health inequalities through exposure to public and environmental health information and uneven distribution of resources.
Also, it contributes to the low institutional capacities of the healthcare system in communicating information to patients who depend on them. These factors are motivated by the history of oppression and marginalization of the vulnerable communities, denying them health justice and equality. Health literacy is an important tool that can be used to reverse healthcare structures, policies, and practices that develop, spread, and magnify health disparities.
Snell-Rood, C., Jaramillo, E. T., Hamilton, A. B., Raskin, S. E., Nicosia, F. M., & Willging, C. (2021). Advancing health equity through a theoretically critical implementation science. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 11(8), 1617-1625.
The authors addressed the shortcomings of science models, theories, and frameworks in solving inequality, power, and reflexivity to attain health equality. They pointed out that anthropology theories can effectively resolve the issues and could be used together with science theories. Three areas were proposed where those theories could work together in promoting health equity in society. The first approach was through postcoloniality theory, which could help in understanding power roles in the production of knowledge and how it can be used to solve inequalities in the healthcare system.
The second was based on intersectionality and structural violence theories, which could be used to comprehend the weight of unequal health access and develop various interventions that address its root cause. Lastly, the governance and policy theories promote the investigation of political and social forces for implementation and sustainability. The implementation of these frameworks will improve science and, more notably, promote the attainment of health equity.
Surzykiewicz, J., Skalski, S. B., Niesiobędzka, M., Gladysh, O., & Konaszewski, K. (2022). Brief screening measures of mental health for war-related dysfunctional anxiety and negative persistent thinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 195. Web.
The study objective was the construction and initial evaluation of the psychometric features of the War Persistent Thinking Scale and War Anxiety Scale. The researchers measured war anxiety, which consisted of seven statements that were used for the construct assessment. Also, they measured the participants’ thoughts and concerns about war. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test analyzed the normal distribution of data, while Levene’s test assessed homogeneity. The findings outlined the major sign of war anxiety as freezing (paralyzing anxiety), while that of war persistent thinking was unintentional thoughts about war. The developed scales were crucial in complementing the available tools for assessing the mental health conditions of people faced or affected by war.