Health inequity not only has tremendous economic burden, but also impairs the foundations of social justice in any society. The current state of scientific knowledge supports the existence of significant inequities and disparities between different social groups. A significant part of our understanding of the health inequities lies in the realm of physical diseases, though mental health’s nature makes it more vulnerable to disparities. Mental health issues are sensitive matters that require additional trust, cultural appropriateness, acceptance, and support from healthcare providers and healthcare systems. As a result, not only mental health patients are at risk of disparities that exist in physical diseases, but they also face other challenges such as social stigma, language barriers, and fear of treatment that could result in disparities. Considering all these, we need to understand where the inequities are in the realm of mental health and who is being affected the most. We also need to know the existing policies and their effectiveness and efficiency. And with all these, then, we could plan how to decrease mental health disparities and provide welfare to all.
This Research Topic aims to help achieve this goal by calling for studies that take steps in understanding any aspect of mental health disparities in different social groups.
Authors are welcome to submit original and review articles that help depict the existing disparities in mental health, the determining factors, their impacts, and the strategies to address them, either at the individual or population level. The disparity types could be race or ethnicity, sex, sexual identity and LGBTQ+ populations, age, disability, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or any new definition that the author pursues. And finally, we look to present articles for all measurement types related to mental health including, but not limited to, incidence, prevalence, burden, quality of life, access to care, quality of care, cultural perceptions of mental health, social stigma, fear or mistrust of the care, or communication barriers. We particularly encourage authors to fill the gap in the literature on the economic outcomes of the existing mental health disparities.
Health inequity not only has tremendous economic burden, but also impairs the foundations of social justice in any society. The current state of scientific knowledge supports the existence of significant inequities and disparities between different social groups. A significant part of our understanding of the health inequities lies in the realm of physical diseases, though mental health’s nature makes it more vulnerable to disparities. Mental health issues are sensitive matters that require additional trust, cultural appropriateness, acceptance, and support from healthcare providers and healthcare systems. As a result, not only mental health patients are at risk of disparities that exist in physical diseases, but they also face other challenges such as social stigma, language barriers, and fear of treatment that could result in disparities. Considering all these, we need to understand where the inequities are in the realm of mental health and who is being affected the most. We also need to know the existing policies and their effectiveness and efficiency. And with all these, then, we could plan how to decrease mental health disparities and provide welfare to all.
This Research Topic aims to help achieve this goal by calling for studies that take steps in understanding any aspect of mental health disparities in different social groups.
Authors are welcome to submit original and review articles that help depict the existing disparities in mental health, the determining factors, their impacts, and the strategies to address them, either at the individual or population level. The disparity types could be race or ethnicity, sex, sexual identity and LGBTQ+ populations, age, disability, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or any new definition that the author pursues. And finally, we look to present articles for all measurement types related to mental health including, but not limited to, incidence, prevalence, burden, quality of life, access to care, quality of care, cultural perceptions of mental health, social stigma, fear or mistrust of the care, or communication barriers. We particularly encourage authors to fill the gap in the literature on the economic outcomes of the existing mental health disparities.