Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act Essay Paper

Implementing healthcare policies helps provide standard guidelines on the most appropriate course of action during clinical practice. Policies should aim to improve public health, patient outcomes, and service delivery. Thus, policymakers must use evidence-based information to inform policy (Pollack Porter et al., 2018). Research evidence gives support to specific solutions that a policy seeks to address.

The policy I chose for this assignment is H.R 1475- Pursuing equity in mental health act. The policy aims to address mental health issues among the youth of colour. The bill will help address racial and ethnic groups’ mental health disparities (Congress.gov, 2022). In the U.S, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of its population has declined significantly. This has dramatically affected the minority groups, including the Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian population, compared to the Whites. This has been attributed to the high infection rates and deaths experienced during the pandemic. Additionally, the racial and ethnic groups also have less access to mental health services which jeopardizes their health compared to the Whites (Thomeer et al., 2022). Thus the gap in mental health disparity among the ethnic and racial groups must be addressed, and implementing the equity in mental health act will help address the issue mentioned. Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act Essay Paper

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Yes, I believe there is an evidence base to support the policy. Despite the overall improvement in healthcare in the U.S, significant disparities experienced in mortality and morbidity rates among the racial and ethnic groups reveal the health dividend. According to (Thomeer et al., 2022), documentation on other research has revealed that disparities in healthcare and access to services continue to disadvantage ethnic and racial groups for a wide range of conditions. Thus implementing the policy will help bridge the gap in mental health for minority groups.

References

Congress.gov. (2022). H.R.1475 – Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act. Retrieved 16 July 2022, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1475.

Pollack Porter, K., Rutkow, L., & McGinty, E. (2018). The Importance of Policy Change for Addressing Public Health Problems. Public Health Reports, 133(1_suppl), 9S-14S. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354918788880

Thomeer, M., Moody, M., & Yahirun, J. (2022). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health and Mental Health Care During The COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal Of Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01284-9 Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act Essay Paper