Community-Defined Solutions for Latino Mental Health Care Disparities: Working together to Achieve Wellness

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, and numerous and varied interested Latino subgroups in California stress that preventive intervention with Latino communities is imperative. Focusing on prevention and early intervention services as outlined in the Mental Health Services Act, the authors used qualitative methods to explore community-defined, promising practices, models, and approaches that could be used as solutions to reduce disparities in mental health among Latinos in California. The sample consisted of 553 Latino participants from 11 rural and urban counties in California. Co-locating services emerged as a major innovative and comprehensive approach to reaching out to and providing mental health care to Latinos. Unfortunately, very little prior research has focused on the integration of care by co-locating services, as a solution to help Latinos access and use mental health services. This presentation will provide key characteristics of co-locating services as a preventive intervention framework that when properly implemented and interfaced with important social and cultural values of Latino communities, can not only change the course of mental disorders but also enhance access to quality of health care (both physical and mental). As more Latinos are in line to gain access to health care under the Affordable Care Act, we can expect even greater demands on the mental health care system to improve mental health and wellness for Latinos. Early detection in schools as part of the co-locating services framework is key to prevention and wellness among Latinos and avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach.