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Objective: Our study examines the association between social support and use of mental health services in Asian American men and women. Specifically, we report on the association between types of social support and types of health services used (general medical care and specialty mental health care).

Method: We use data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, a nationally representative survey of the US household population of Latino and Asian Americans. Our present study is based on data from the sample of Asian Americans (N = 2,095).

Results: Overall, our findings suggest that Asian Americans use general medical care services more than specialty mental health care. Our findings also showed variations in levels of social support, and the use of health services among different Asian subgroups (Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, and Other Asian) and nativity status (US-born versus foreign-born Asians). Specific types of social support influenced the use of specialty mental health care services, while other types of social support inhibited use of specialist services.

Conclusion: Compared to using generalist services, Asian Americans demonstrated lower rates of using specialist services. Our results emphasize the importance of considering other social factors to explain between group differences as well as factors contributing to the underutilization of specialty mental health services by Asian Americans.

Understanding the determinants of health services use is essential for planning for effective services, particularly health care policies in a newly independent state, the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relative importance of social capital factors in affecting the variation in health status and use of health services, using structural equation modeling. The results show that health status is a strong predictor of health services use when the effect of social capital is held constant; and that social capital is directly linked with health status.

The rising of chronic illness and the continuous aging of the global population requires a re-organization of health care systems based on relations and exchange of information to address patient needs in the community. The re-organization of health care systems involves interconnected changes and the development of integrated health care information systems and novel eHealth services. In Crete, the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas has developed HYGEIAnet, a Regional Health Information Network (RHIN) to contribute to the re-organization of health care systems and information sharing. We present HYGEIAnet, some of the most critical and novel eHealth services developed and deployed, discuss the impact of an RHIN on health care processes, and explore innovative models and services for health delivery and the coordination of care. We then critically discuss lessons learned regarding the effective management of change to overcome organizational and cultural issues in such large-scale initiatives. The paper concludes with policy and practice recommendations for managing change processes in health care organizations.

This mixed-methods study reports on an outreach clinics program designed to deliver genetic services to medically underserved communities in Wisconsin.

We show the geographic distribution, funding patterns, and utilization trends for outreach clinics over a 20-year period. Interviews with program planners and outreach clinic staff show how external and internal constraints limited the program’s capacity. We compare clinic operations to the conceptual models guiding program design.

Our findings show that state health officials had to scale back financial support for outreach clinic activities while healthcare providers faced increasing pressure from administrators to reduce investments in charity care. These external and internal constraints led to a decline in the overall number of patients served. We also find that redistribution of clinics to the Milwaukee area increased utilization among Hispanics but not among African-Americans. Our interviews suggest that these patterns may be a function of shortcomings embedded in the planning models.

Planning models have three shortcomings. First, they do not identify the mitigation of health disparities as a specific goal. Second, they fail to acknowledge that partners face escalating profit-seeking mandates that may limit their capacity to provide charity services. Finally, they underemphasize the importance of seeking trusted partners, especially in working with communities that have been historically marginalized.

There has been little discussion about equitably leveraging genetic advances that improve healthcare quality and efficacy. The role of State Health Agencies in mitigating disparities in access to genetic services has been largely ignored in the sociological literature.

Recently, a national priority has been set to improve mental health services for children and families. It has been identified in epidemiological literature that in the United States, an approximate 15% of youth meet diagnostic criteria for emotional or behavioral problems. Furthermore, less than one in every five children that present with such needs receive mental health services. Individual, family, and system barriers such as transportation, competing demands, and long waiting lists have negatively impacted access to mental health services. Therefore, the school system has become the “de facto” mental health system for children and adolescents, in part because of the significant time students spend at school. However, meeting the needs of students with behavioral or emotional problems within the school system poses its own challenges. Schools have reported being limited in their ability to deliver basic mental wellness to students due to the lack of available resources. Specifically, there is a shortage of school-employed mental health personnel and the ratio of student to mental health professional is two to three times larger than recommended. Expanded school mental health programs are partnered systems that utilize existing services and collaborate with community mental health (CMH) professionals at each level of the three-tiered system. This partnership enables CMH staff gain access to youth with emotional and behavioral problems, resulting in increased prevention and intervention services for students. Additionally, a coordinated effort such as student-transition services has an integral role of facilitating the process from the school system to postsecondary employment, training, and or additional education.

The aim of this chapter is to explore changes since the COVID-19 pandemic in welfare policies and services for people with learning disabilities and autism in England, focusing mainly on educational and health and social care sectors.

A review of official policy documents published on GOV.UK from January 2020 to May 2021 has been conducted using keywords on the topic in question, and semi-structured interviews took place in 2022 with four key informants/stakeholders working in health and social care or education sectors of people with learning disability or autism in England.

The main findings indicate a need to shift practices online due to the pandemic, for both education and health and social-care practice. It is also clear that reforms and adjustments were implemented in guidance, policies and frameworks for the support of persons with learning disabilities and autism. It has been increasingly difficult for people with disabilities to access healthcare services and medication during the pandemic, and this has had an impact on their overall health and wellbeing too. Experts suggested that smoother changes and more support are required, in terms of provision of services, research, access to healthcare, educational services, mental health, employment, as well as more public funding on such services for people with learning disabilities and autism.

The main lessons learned were focusing on the use of online resources, digitalisation of services and access to them, but also difficulty of the system to adapt fast to major changes required in order to support people with disabilities.

This study aims to provide a better understanding of Native American women veterans’ experiences with Veteran Administration and Indian Health Services. Eighteen interviews were conducted with special attention to the quality and quantity of health and mental health care services veterans accessed, the barriers and local contextual factors in accessing and utilizing services, and potential solutions to service gaps for women veterans from two Montana reservations, the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation.

We examine the barriers and needs of Native American veterans in both reservations using qualitative methods. The research analyzed 18 interviews with women veterans from the Northern Cheyenne and Flathead reservations.

Native American women veterans identified a number of barriers to accessing care, some of which include lack of information regarding eligibility and the types of services available. Women often found the application process to be confusing and difficult. Other barriers included distance, cost of travel, and conflicts with their work schedule.

This exploratory case study served to clarify the challenges and obstacles Native American women veterans experience with accessing health and mental health services. This research revealed several patterns and themes in the experience of Native American women veterans in both reservation communities when attempting to access and seek care at Veterans Administration (VA) facilities and Indian Health Services (IHS). This research calls for policy changes and research to clarify how resources can be more efficiently and effectively distributed to rural veterans.

Little research has addressed the needs of Native American veterans. American Indians and Alaska Natives serve at a higher rate in the U.S. military than any other population. This research provides important information about Native American veterans who are often underrepresented in survey research, yet a rapidly growing segment of the United States military and veteran population.

Social and economic trends toward local governance form the context for health and mental health policy and the reorganization of care systems for cost-containment in the United States. Local management of public–private collaborations is promoted by state agencies as a means of rationalizing mental health care and community support services. This chapter analyses the local process of developing public–private partnerships for mental health care, based on an ethnographic case study of county Mental Health/Mental Retardation and behavioral health committees and coalitions in Texas, from 1995 to 2001. Following this period, local service agencies continued collaboration to increase community awareness and resources for care. Findings were that while the rapid transition to local control under conditions of reduced resources impeded implementation of a public–private mental health care system, commitment to a service safety net for persons with mental disabilities was sustained.