Resources Released Highlighting National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

July was National Minority Mental Health Awareness month: a time to bring awareness to the challenges that minority communities face regarding mental and behavioral health. In 2022, 35.2% of multiracial adults aged 18 or older reported experiencing any mental illness in the past year, which is significantly higher compared to 24.6% of White adults. Furthermore, 11.8% of multiracial adults experienced a serious mental illness in the past year, compared to 6.5% of White adults. There are also significant disparities in mental health treatment among those who experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. Among adults aged 18 or older who had an MDE, 49.7% of Hispanic adults and 51.2% of Black adults received mental health treatment, compared to 66.6% of White adults.  In addition to racial and ethnic minority communities, LGBTQI+ communities face significant inequities when it comes to mental and behavioral health. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely than straight adults to use substances, experience mental health issues including major depressive episodes, and experience serious thoughts of suicide.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH):

In response to these disparities, during Minority Mental Health Awareness Month CMS OMH released a series of resources that would support increased understanding of and access to support for minority mental health challenges.

The significant disparities in the prevalence of mental illnesses and the treatment received by racial and ethnic minority communities and LGBTQI+ individuals underscore the urgent need for culturally competent and accessible mental health care. By leveraging resources like our Coverage to Care (C2C) materials, specifically the Roadmap to Behavioral Health, we can empower minority communities to better understand and access the mental health services they need.

Through collective efforts, we can work towards achieving mental health equity for all. See below for resources that you can use to help empower minority populations to take care of their mental health this month and beyond.

• Download CMS’s recently updated C2C Roadmap to Behavioral Health, which is available in 9 languages and serves as a mental health and substance use services companion guide to the C2C Roadmap to Better Care.
• Review the CMS Behavioral Health Strategy, which aims to ensure that high-quality behavioral health services and supports are accessible to all CMS enrollees and consumers.
• Share CMS’s C2C Telehealth Resources to help your patients connect to available telehealth services.
• Read CMS’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Among Diverse Groups of Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries data highlight, which examines the physical and mental health outcomes of people with Medicare Advantage by race and ethnicity.
• Review CMS’s Depression Disparities in Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) Beneficiaries data snapshot, which highlights disparities in depression for people enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service by race, ethnicity, and geography.
• Explore CMS’s Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, which shows the prevalence of chronic diseases, including depression, among those with Medicare varied by age, sex, race and ethnicity, eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, and geographic areas.
• Try HHS’s Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals e-learning program, which helps behavioral health professionals increase their cultural and linguistic competency.
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) website to find resources for various populations including: Black; Hispanic/Latino Americans; American Indian & Alaskan Natives; Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders; and LGBTQI+

SAMHSA

Similarly, the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also released information for ways that stakeholders can improve mental wellness among minority populations, including highlighting the Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center (EBPRC), which promotes mental health awareness through equitable access to high quality evidence-based resources. Specific resources of note include:

• Adapting Evidence-Based Practices for Under-Resourced Populations
• This guide focuses on research supporting adaptations of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for underserved populations. Adaptations involve tailoring care, programs, and services to the cultural, social, gender, and demographic contexts of the people served, to yield positive outcomes.
• Disparities Within Serious Mental Illness
  • This resource provides a systemic evidence review and description of the effectiveness of interventions that address disparities among adult patients with SMI.
• The following EBPRC Resources are also available:

• TIP 59: Improving Cultural Competence
• Prevention and Treatment of HIV Among People Living with Substance Use and/or Mental Disorders
• Best Practices for Successful Reentry From Criminal Justice Settings for People Living With Mental Health Conditions and/or Substance Use Disorders
• Advisory: Identification and Management of Mental Health Symptoms and Conditions Associated with Long COVID

For additional resources that focus on prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction approaches for substance use disorders and mental illness, please visit the EBPRC website.