Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
J Transcult Nurs. 2012 Oct;23(4):359-68. doi: 10.1177/1043659612451259. Epub 2012 Jul 16.
This study assessed mental health needs and service utilization patterns in a convenience sample of Hispanic immigrants.
A total of 84 adult Hispanic participants completed a structured diagnostic interview and a semistructured service utilization interview with trained bilingual research assistants.
In the sample, 36% met diagnostic criteria for at least one mental disorder. Although 42% of the sample saw a physician in the prior year, mental health services were being rendered primarily by religious leaders. The most common barriers to service utilization were cost (59%), lack of health insurance (35%), and language (31%). Although more women than men met criteria for a disorder, service utilization rates were comparable. Participants with a mental disorder were significantly more likely to have sought medical, but not psychiatric, services in the prior year and faced significantly more cost barriers than participants without a mental disorder.
Findings suggest that Hispanic immigrants, particularly those with a mental illness, need to access services but face numerous systemic barriers. The authors recommend specific ways to make services more affordable and linguistically accessible.
本研究评估了便利样本中西班牙裔移民的心理健康需求和服务利用模式。
共有 84 名成年西班牙裔参与者完成了一项结构化的诊断访谈和一项由受过双语培训的研究助理进行的半结构化服务利用访谈。
在该样本中，36%的人符合至少一种精神障碍的诊断标准。尽管该样本中有 42%的人在过去一年中看过医生，但心理健康服务主要由宗教领袖提供。服务利用的最常见障碍是费用（59%）、缺乏医疗保险（35%）和语言（31%）。尽管女性符合障碍标准的比例高于男性，但服务利用率相当。在过去一年中，患有精神障碍的参与者更有可能寻求医疗服务，但不是精神病服务，并且面临的费用障碍明显多于没有精神障碍的参与者。
研究结果表明，西班牙裔移民，特别是那些患有精神疾病的人，需要获得服务，但面临许多系统性障碍。作者建议采取具体措施使服务更实惠和语言上更易于获得。
