African Americans
- "Safety net" providers furnish a disproportionate share of the mental health care services, but the survival of these providers is threatened by uncertain sources of financing.
- The stigma of mental illness prevents African Americans from seeking care. About 25% of African Americans are uninsured. Additionally, "many African Americans with adequate private insurance coverage are still less-inclined to use mental health services."
- Only about one African American in three who needs care receives it. African Americans are also more likely than white Americans to terminate treatment early.
- If African Americans do receive treatment, they are more likely to have sought help through primary care than through specialist services. As a result, they are frequently overrepresented in emergency departments and psychiatric hospitals.
- For certain disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and mood disorders) errors in diagnosis are made more often for African Americans than for white Americans.
- African Americans respond as well as white Americans to some behavioral treatments but were found to be less likely than white Americans to receive appropriate care for depression or anxiety.
