Depression For African American And Racial Barriers

Picot Statement And Literature For The Challenges Of Depression For African American And Racial Barriers. Name Institution Date Introduction Depression is a severe mental disorder experienced by many people in the US with more than 17 million people likely to suffer from depression annually. Such projection continues to generate concern from medical experts because of the impact on the health outcomes and the general quality of life. Anyone can develop depression at some point in life; however, depression has become a common health problem among African American due to many factors that increase their vulnerability. Racism is one other major factor that decreases African American likelihood to seek or even receive adequate treatment. Due to the unmet needs caused by this barrier, we need to identify the impact of racism on African American face when seeking mental health care. African American depends on quality mental health services in primary care more than other population (Gattis & Larson, 2016). However, African Americans are likely to face disparity caused by racial discrimination when seeking for treatment of depression. This specifically is the leading cause of disparity which has not been addressed. PICOT question: For African American adults aged between 25 – 45years (p), how does racism within the primary care setting (I) affect their access to treatment of depression (C ) leading to mental health disparity between African Americans and the white Americans ( t)? Problem Statement of the Study Although depression can be prompted by several factors, depression is known to be triggered by institutional racism which is associated with poverty. Social –economic factors combined with racism play a crucial role in African Americans in determining their access to the treatment of depression. Low-income adults face many barriers when seeking mental health treatment service (Wharton, et al., 2018). Research studies focus on visible barriers like financial resource, lack of community resources among others. Limited studies have focused on analyzing the prolonged experience of racism and discrimination within the primary setting as an additional barrier to treatment services. Access to quality mental health treatment service caused by racism imposes a greater burden on among ethnic minorities than the white population (Ellison, DeAngelis & Guven, 2017). Purpose and Research Question This qualitative research intends to examine the experience of being depressed among African-American elders and their perceptions of barriers confronted when contemplating seeking mental health services. In addition, the research will review some of the coping strategies they utilize African-American a why they choose not to seek professional mental health services. Literature View A number of studies indicate the depression among African American adult is associated with low income, hence, affect the utilization of mental health services. According to an article by Ward & Mengesha, (2013), the authors reveal that most African American continues struggling with depression as they prefer to remain silent, only a small percentage seek help from family and close friends. According to the article, stigma is one of the larger barriers among all racial groups as it impacts on help-seeking behavior and services more so among black Americans (Ward & Mengesha, 2013). The article presents a study where both black American men and women aged between 25 to 57 with depression narrated their experience. Several factors emerged; however, stigma and discrimination were more profound than other factors Ward & Mengesha, (2013). The research highlighted the impact of social factors like racism and stigma on illness experiences that affected help-seeking behavior and service use, offering various suggestions on improving care for black Americans with depression. Another article by Lara-Cinisomo, Clark, & Wood, (2018) review studies revealing how African Americans with mild depre...