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Community mental health and ethnic minority populations

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Abstract

National trends in minority utilization of mental health services are reviewed, and recommendations are made for needed research. In relation to their representation in the population, blacks use services more than expected, and Asian American/Pacific Islanders use services less; Hispanics and Native American/Alaska Islander use varies according to type of service. Hospitalization accounts for part of the increase in minority utilization; this trend is problematic. Disruptions in service continue to plague minority clients, possibly stemming from inadequacies in the organization and financing of care, and from cultural incongruity. Much more must be learned about these problems in utilization, as well as about other key issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minority Research Resources Branch, Division of Biometry & Applied Sciences, National Institute of Mental Health, USA

    Freda K. Cheung Ph.D. (Chief)

  2. School of Social Welfare, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, California

    Lonnie R. Snowden Ph.D. (Professor)

  3. Institute for Mental Health Services Research, USA

    Lonnie R. Snowden Ph.D. (Professor)

Authors
  1. Freda K. Cheung Ph.D.
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  2. Lonnie R. Snowden Ph.D.
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Cheung, F.K., Snowden, L.R. Community mental health and ethnic minority populations. Community Ment Health J 26, 277–291 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00752778

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