The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43375

Kathleen Ell, DSW and Jan Nissly, MSW. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, MRF Building - MC0411, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411

Low-income, medically underserved women are consistently found to have high rates of mood and anxiety disorders, though many remain undiagnosed and untreated due to inability or unwillingness to seek specialty mental health services. Ethnic minority women are particularly likely to underutilize the specialty mental health care system due to sociocultural, individual, and systems barriers to care. As part of a statewide, multi-site dissemination study, a team of Patient Guides and Master's degreed Social Workers provided three-staged mental health screening to 236 ethnically diverse women receiving primary care services in three urban communities. Among this group of predominantly Hispanic, Chinese, and African-American women, 13% (30) screened positive for anxiety or depression on the Mental Health Inventory and subsequently on the Brief Symptom Inventory, necessitating repeat screening and/or referral to the MSW for diagnostic and clinical assessment using the PRIME-MD PHQ-9, and brief counseling and referral. Of the 17 women with whom the PHQ-9 was administered, 12 (5% of the entire study sample) were found to meet diagnostic criteria for major or other depressive disorder, and 7 (3% of the study sample) met criteria for anxiety disorder (2 had comorbid anxiety and depression). Social work services protocols were designed to be culturally sensitive and to address each woman's barriers to service use. Discussion will focus on specific clinical problems and barriers to service encountered in serving each ethnic group.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to

• Articulate the benefits of mental health screening in a primary care setting;
• Identify three instruments used to screen for and diagnose anxiety and depressive disorders; and
• Discuss the key issues related to mental health screening, referral, and follow-up among women of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

Keywords: Underserved Populations, Mental Health Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: City of San Francisco Health Department, West Oakland Health Council, Alameda County Health Services, Logan Heights Family Health Centers, State of California Department of Health Services, University of Southern California
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.