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Latino disparities in child mental health services

Cyntia Lopez1, Cintia Lopez, Martha Dewey Bergren

  • 1Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL, USA. cindylopez97@hotmail.com

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing : Official Publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc
|August 1, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Latino children underutilize mental health services due to unmet needs. Language and cultural barriers contribute to this disparity, with further research needed to understand access and utilization challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychiatry
  • Nursing
  • Mental Health Services Research

Background:

  • Latino children exhibit higher rates of unmet mental health needs.
  • Underutilization of mental health services is a documented pattern for this population.
  • Existing literature suggests disparities in access and utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the reasons for mental health service disparities in Latino children.
  • To identify barriers affecting the utilization of mental health services by Latino children.
  • To synthesize current literature on this understudied area.

Main Methods:

  • An integrative literature review was conducted.
  • The review focused on studies within child psychiatry and nursing.
  • Key themes of access, utilization, and barriers were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • The literature confirms underutilization of mental health services by Latino children.
  • Language and cultural issues are identified as potential barriers.
  • The reasons for the disparity are not fully addressed in the current literature.

Conclusions:

  • Significant gaps exist in understanding the barriers to mental health service access and utilization for Latino children.
  • Lack of standardized definitions and tools for identifying mental health problems hinders research.
  • Cultural and language issues specific to Latino research require further investigation.
Abstract

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