3 thoughts on “Policy Options Brief on Unmet Mental Health Care Needs for Children of Minority Families”
The problem of mental disorder is clearly identified in this memo. It clearly states the stigma and lack of information associated with this disease. It would be great to address the negative impact to society such as violence and unhealthy behaviors. A policy option that may be helpful in addressing this issue is strengthening community network such as building community outreach program, which can be funded by the Government. It’s great that mental health screening begins in the school but what would happen to children who are homeschool or even migrated at a later age? I think that there should be a policy for homeschool children for mental screening including immigration laws that focuses on mental health screening for immigrants. The option that seems best to me is cyber-screening. The reason for my answer is that many teenagers commit suicide due to cyber bullying that has destroyed many families.
I think the case for the seriousness of the lack of attention to mental health care among minority children is sufficient. Like many other health issues, when it comes to health care for a serious health issues, minority children are the ones that gets to be treated last due to their financial status. Parents of minority children have long working hours and often might not be able to provide to emotional and physical support that their child needs. I think the options offered by the writer are options that can potentially help remedy the problem. Education the families of children who might have mental issues seems to be an important components to the options offered by the writer and i agree that educating the parents about different signs of unhealthy mental health is the key step in helping their children. Out of the three options being offered in the policy brief, i think In school Mental Health Screening is the most financial friendly and beneficial to minority families. The school is the place where children learn, and having the school helping parents to identify the problem is beneficial to both the parent and the school. Lastly, I believe the public school system does have a good system when it comes to screening a kid that seems to need help.
The lack of mental health treatment for children of minority families is a serious problem that affects not only these families, but society as a whole. The seriousness of the issue is well stated. As you describe, the ones who need this care the most are the ones who are unable to access it. You further describe that the causes of minority children not having access to the care they need are twofold- the stigma surrounding mental health and the cost of receiving care. Therefore, we need to not only help make professional care more affordable, but also change the way people view mental health issues. While it can be very difficult to get people to view something differently, I think that the “Precede-Proceed Model” that you describe would be effective. As you state, it focuses specifically on reaching the people who need mental health services the most. If they can start to view mental health differently, maybe they will finally feel comfortable seeking treatment. In school mental health screenings would also be tremendously beneficial. Kids go to the school nurse to have things such as sight and hearing tested, and height and weight taken, so why not do a mental health screening as well? This would help to identify the problem to people who may have otherwise never been made aware of it because they cannot afford to get to a doctor. Overall, I think that you did a good job in explaining the problem and the solutions and I hope that we will see a decrease in this problem.
The problem of mental disorder is clearly identified in this memo. It clearly states the stigma and lack of information associated with this disease. It would be great to address the negative impact to society such as violence and unhealthy behaviors. A policy option that may be helpful in addressing this issue is strengthening community network such as building community outreach program, which can be funded by the Government. It’s great that mental health screening begins in the school but what would happen to children who are homeschool or even migrated at a later age? I think that there should be a policy for homeschool children for mental screening including immigration laws that focuses on mental health screening for immigrants. The option that seems best to me is cyber-screening. The reason for my answer is that many teenagers commit suicide due to cyber bullying that has destroyed many families.
I think the case for the seriousness of the lack of attention to mental health care among minority children is sufficient. Like many other health issues, when it comes to health care for a serious health issues, minority children are the ones that gets to be treated last due to their financial status. Parents of minority children have long working hours and often might not be able to provide to emotional and physical support that their child needs. I think the options offered by the writer are options that can potentially help remedy the problem. Education the families of children who might have mental issues seems to be an important components to the options offered by the writer and i agree that educating the parents about different signs of unhealthy mental health is the key step in helping their children. Out of the three options being offered in the policy brief, i think In school Mental Health Screening is the most financial friendly and beneficial to minority families. The school is the place where children learn, and having the school helping parents to identify the problem is beneficial to both the parent and the school. Lastly, I believe the public school system does have a good system when it comes to screening a kid that seems to need help.
The lack of mental health treatment for children of minority families is a serious problem that affects not only these families, but society as a whole. The seriousness of the issue is well stated. As you describe, the ones who need this care the most are the ones who are unable to access it. You further describe that the causes of minority children not having access to the care they need are twofold- the stigma surrounding mental health and the cost of receiving care. Therefore, we need to not only help make professional care more affordable, but also change the way people view mental health issues. While it can be very difficult to get people to view something differently, I think that the “Precede-Proceed Model” that you describe would be effective. As you state, it focuses specifically on reaching the people who need mental health services the most. If they can start to view mental health differently, maybe they will finally feel comfortable seeking treatment. In school mental health screenings would also be tremendously beneficial. Kids go to the school nurse to have things such as sight and hearing tested, and height and weight taken, so why not do a mental health screening as well? This would help to identify the problem to people who may have otherwise never been made aware of it because they cannot afford to get to a doctor. Overall, I think that you did a good job in explaining the problem and the solutions and I hope that we will see a decrease in this problem.