Geographic Disparities in Unmet Need for Mental Health Care among Racially/Ethnically Diverse Adults with Psychiatric Disorders

다인종·민족의 정신건강관리에서 나타나는 지리적 불평등: 한국의 노년학 연구에 대한 시사점

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to examine geographic disparities in unmet need for mental health care among racially/ethnically diverse adults with psychiatric disorders in the United States. Methods: Drawn from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES; 2001-2003), adults with any past year psychiatric disorder diagnosis (n = 3,211) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds were selected for analyses. Using weighted data, descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Two thirds of the total sample had unmet mental health care need, which differed significantly by race/ethnicity ( p <.001). Logistic regression analyses show regional variation of the effect of race/ethnicity in unmet need: after adjusting for covariates, Latinos in the South, Blacks and Latinos in the Midwest, and Latinos and Asians in the West had higher unmet need than non-Hispanic Whites, whereas no significant racial/ethnic effects were found in the Northeast. Conclusions: Findings suggest that geographic region plays an important role in the sufficient use of mental health services among racial/ethnic minorities. Further research should elucidate reasons for geographic disparities in mental health care among racial/ethnic minority adults to reduce disparities. In addition, evidence presented in the present research provides implications for Korean gerontological research.