Mental health treatment disparities among adults aged 18 or older in the United States

Background: In 2006, there were an estimated 11.3% of all adults aged 18 or older in the United States with Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) in the past year. The rates in past year SPD were 7.8% among Asians, 10.5% among blacks, 11.4% among whites, 10.8% among Hispanics, 25.3% among persons reporting two or more races. Among the 24.9 million adults aged 18 or older with SPD in 2006, 44.0% received treatment for a mental health problem in the past year. Among adults with SPD, 39.0% received a prescription medication, 27.2% received outpatient treatment, and 3.9% received inpatient treatment for mental health problem in the past year. The rates of treatment for mental health problems among adults differed by racial/ethnic groups. Objective: The primary objective of this research is to assess the factors associated with mental health treatment disparities among adults aged 18 or older between racial/ethnic groups. Data and methods: The data for this research is taken from 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for ages 18 and older. Multiple weighted logistic regression models are estimated to assess factors associated with mental health treatment using STATA svy procedure. Results: Logistic regression models provide unadjusted and adjusted results for the relationship between race and mental health treatment controlling for other socio-demographic characteristics. The rates for treatment for adults were 15.1% for whites, 8.9% for blacks and 7.8% for Hispanics. Results show significant mental health treatment disparities among racial groups even after controlling for the effect of insurance.