US Mental Health Assistance
Mental health problems or mental illnesses are among the major public health issues in the United States given their prevalence. Mental health illnesses affected nearly all populations in the United States including children and adults. However, the prevalence of mental illnesses among adults is high in comparison to other populations. Mental health problems among adults in the U.S. incorporate many different conditions whose degree of severity varies from mild to moderate to severe (National Institute of Mental Health, 2019). One of the major contributing factors to the prevalence of mental illnesses among adults in America is the rapid growth of the aging population. Adults suffering from mental illness don't always understand they are sick and are difficult to help. Our system puts them out on the street or locks them up. There is need for policy changes to address the prevalence of mental health illnesses among adults. An alternative care policy is the most suitable policy action for the government since it would help establish an assortment of mental health services and treatment for these patients.

Historical Context of the Problem

Mental illnesses have existed in the American healthcare system for a long period of time due to the challenges experienced by various patient populations across the country. Generally, millions of Americans across all age groups are affected by mental illnesses or mental health problems annually. Colpe et al. (2010) states that approximately 26% of Americans aged 18 years or more are affected by mental health conditions or reported to have a diagnosable mental illness in a given year. These diagnosable mental health conditions among adults vary in terms of lifetime prevalence. Recent surveys have shown that the estimated lifetime prevalence of mental health conditions among adults in the United States is high for anxiety disorders, impulse-control disorders, mood disorders and substance abuse disorders at 29%, 25%, 21%, and 15% respectively. As a result, adults in the United States are increasingly vulnerable to chronic mental health disorders.

Currently, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2018) reports that nearly 1 in every 5 adults in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental health condition. This implies that approximately 18.5% of the adult population in the U.S. i.e. 43.8 million adults experience a diagnosable mental illness in a given year. Additionally, 1 in every 25 adults in the U.S. experience a severe mental disorder in a given year. The severe mental illness experienced by these individuals significantly affects or limits at least one of their major life activities. Some of the most common mental health conditions experienced by adults in the United States include anxiety disorder, substance use disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

The prevalence of mental illnesses among adults in the United States has made it one of the major public health issues in the country. As a result, various initiatives have been developed and implemented in the U.S. healthcare system to help address mental health problems among adults and other patient populations. Colpe et al. (2010) contends that public health systems in the United States have relied on public health surveillance to develop health programs. In this case, public health system in the U.S. utilize mental health surveillance to collect data regarding mental health conditions and plan health programs. Additionally, various health programs and initiatives are used as a means for promoting the mental health and wellbeing of adults suffering from mental disorders. The National Institute of Mental Health (2019) reports that some of these initiatives include inpatient treatment or counseling and outpatient treatment or counseling. Such treatment or counseling approaches for adults are regarded as mental health services that sometimes incorporate the use of medication for emotional and psychological problems.

Despite the existence of mental health services in the U.S. healthcare system, mental health remains a major issue facing adult populations across the country. Prevalence of mental health issues among U.S. adults continue to increase due to various factors including seeming ineffectiveness of mental health services and factors relating to individual adult patients. Adults suffering from mental illness don't always understand they are sick and are difficult to help. This continues to be a major problem regardless of measures and initiatives undertaken by the U.S. healthcare system to increase awareness on this issue and enhance treatment. The difficulties associated with helping adults suffering from mental health illnesses contributes to perceived ineffectiveness of some of the treatment alternatives provided in U.S. healthcare system.

In addition to individual factors, mental illnesses are public health issues because of the structure of the current U.S. healthcare system. The nature and structure of the American healthcare system currently puts mental health patients out on the street and locks them up. This further exacerbates their condition and interfere with their ability to receive timely and effective help. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2018), approximately 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters suffer from severe mental health conditions....
Alternative care policy would address the problem by ensuring that adults with mental illnesses have alternative care settings for their conditions. In this regard, these patients would benefit from an assortment of in-home services, residential centers, and awareness groups or organizations (Carey, 2016). This helps to improve their conditions since they receive convenient, relevant and effective mental health services rather than being put out on the streets or being locked up. However, this policy could generate issues due to the fact that it is seemingly anti-mainstream.

Recommendation of Policy Action

The most suitable alternative out of the three policy options for the government to resolve this issue is alternative care policy. The current healthcare system is already facing heavy burdens in relation to providing general health and mental health services. These burdens come at a time when the system faces acute nursing shortage. Therefore, a suitable policy action for the government is one that does not exert further pressures and burdens on the current healthcare system and healthcare workforce. Given these factors, alternative care policy is the most suitable policy action since it would provide a good premise for addressing the needs of mental health patients without generating additional burdens and regardless of the severity of the condition. Existing evidence has demonstrated that alternative care under such a policy is effective in providing timely and effective mental health treatment and services. Through this policy, adults with mental illnesses will no longer grapple with neglect or social exclusion and will access mental health services regardless of the severity of their conditions (Carey, 2016).

In conclusion, mental health conditions are among the major public health issues facing the current healthcare system in the United States. The prevalence of mental health issues among adults in the country continues to increase due to various factors including increase in the aging population. However, adults with mental health problems don't always understand they are sick and are difficult to help while the current system puts them on the streets or locks them up. As a result, there is need for enactment of suitable policy initiatives to resolve this problem. Some of the policy alternatives that the government can adopt to resolve the problem include parity in health insurance policy, a general social policy that incorporates mental health, and an alternative care policy. An alternative care policy is the most suitable policy action for the government since it would establish an assortment of mental health services and treatment…