Mental Health Care Coordination Plan

Introduction

African Americans have long been underserved by the mental health care system in the United States. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for improved care coordination for this population, with a focus on addressing psychosocial needs. One model of care coordination that has shown promise is the wraparound model. This model takes a holistic approach to care, focusing on the individuals strengths and needs. It also emphasizes the importance of family and community support in the recovery process. The wraparound model has been successfully used with other populations and there is reason to believe it could be equally effective with African Americans. With its focus on strengths-based care and community support, the wraparound model has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of African Americans living with mental illness (Winters & Metz, 2009). Improving access to mental health care is the focus of this care coordination plan, particularly for the African American community. It also addresses the Healthy People 2030 challenge to reduce the proportion of people who had opioid use disorder in the past year (Healthy People 2030, 2021). As lack of mental health support can lead people to abuse substances like opioids, these two problems go together for the African American community. The third health care issue addressed in this plan is the issue of chronic health conditions that can impact mental health and making sure African Americans receive culturally competent health care services that will give them support for chronic health conditions (Moadel et al., 2007).

Patient-Centered Health Interventions and Timelines

Mental health is a growing concern in the African American community. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults in the United States will experience mental illness in a given year, and African Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. While there is no silver bullet for addressing this complex issue, there are three patient-centered health interventions that have been shown to be effective in improving mental health outcomes in African American communities.

The first intervention is culturally competent care. This type of care takes into account the unique cultural and social needs of African Americans and seeks to provide care that is respectful and responsive to those needs. A recent study found that African Americans who receive culturally competent care are more likely to adhere to treatment plans and experience fewer hospitalizations (Moadel et al., 2007). The second intervention is peer support. This involves connecting patients with others who have similar experiences and can provide emotional support and practical advice. For example, one program that has been shown to be effective is called Friends for Life, which pairs African American cancer patients with trained peer mentors. This can help reduce the opioid abuse problem. The third intervention is community-based care. This type of care takes place outside of traditional medical settings and seeks to address the social determinants of health that impact mental health. One promising approach is called wraparound services, which provide comprehensive support to families dealing with mental illness (Walker & Sanders, 2011). It can be used to ensure that access to mental health care...

…is a lack of provider diversity, which can lead to cultural miscommunication and barriers to care. African Americans also tend to have higher rates of comorbidities, which can complicate treatment and lead to poorer outcomes. Finally, the stigma associated with mental illness is still prevalent in many African American communities, which can make it difficult for individuals to seek help. All of these factors need to be taken into account when developing policies to improve the coordination and continuum of care for mental health for African Americans.

One specific policy provision that could have a positive impact is increasing funding for community-based mental health services. This would help to address some of the access issues mentioned above and also provide more opportunities for culturally competent care. It would also help to ensure greater access to mental health care for this population.

Conclusion

When it comes to mental health, African Americans have long been underserved by the healthcare system. In fact, only about one-third of African Americans with mental illness receive treatment, compared to half of all Americans with mental illness. There are a number of reasons for this disparity, including lack of access to quality care, stigma, and mistrust of the medical establishment. However, there are steps that can be taken to improve mental health outcomes in the African American community. One key intervention is to design patient-centered health care programs that take into account the unique needs of this population. Another critical intervention is to increase funding for mental health services in minority-serving organizations. By taking these steps, we can begin to close the mental health disparity between African Americans…