Latinx Youth's Mental Health Needs and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with Service Utilization.

This study examined mental health needs and risk factors associated with service use among Latinx high school students in two cities in the United States. We explored how socioeconomic characteristics, school location, youth and parental nativity, and self-perceived clinical needs were associated with the odds of youths seeing a mental health provider. Data were collected from 306 Latinx youths during the 2018-19 school year. Most youths (78%) self-reported symptoms of anxiety, trauma, or depression above the clinical range. None of these clinical needs predicted service utilization. Youth experiencing less economic hardship and having a mother from South America were almost five times more likely to use services than their counterparts. Similarly, males and older respondents were more likely to be underserved than females and younger respondents. Implications to ensure equitable access to services among older, low-income Latinx youth, particularly those from Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, are discussed.

A Learning Assessment to Increase Diversity in Academic Health Sciences.

Importance: Strategies and innovations to advance racial and ethnic equity in recruitment, promotion, and retention at academic health science institutions are needed. Objective: This learning assessment aims to isolate evidence-based strategies to advance racial equity in the academic health sciences, which have implications for policy and institution-level interventions. Evidence Review: This learning assessment used a mixed-methods approach, including a quantitative survey, qualitative in-depth interviews, and a scoping literature review. Survey respondents were recruited from outreach lists that included researchers working with racial and ethnic minoritized populations. In-depth interviews were conducted among 60 university administrators, faculty/staff, scholars, students, and individuals affiliated with governmental, nongovernmental, and identity-based professional associations. A search of the literature in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, Education Source, Academic Search Ultimate, and CINAHL was conducted for the scoping review. The scoping review included 366 primary articles of studies evaluating strategies to advance racial and ethnic equity at academic health science institutions. Findings: The survey yielded analyzable results from 328 individuals, including faculty, students, administrators, or staff, and individuals not currently employed at or enrolled full time at a university or college. The interviews included 60 participants with a mean (SD) age of 49.3 (16.5) years, and 39 (65%) were female. The scoping review included 366 primary research articles that met inclusion criteria for analysis. Data were analyzed individually across the survey, interviews, and scoping review, and findings were triangulated. While each of the 3 assessments yielded unique findings, 13 common themes emerged across all project components. Results revealed strategies implemented and evaluated successfully, as well as challenges and barriers to advancing equity in the academic health sciences. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, 13 meaningful strategies emerged across the survey, in-depth interviews, and scoping review. Through triangulation of findings, recommendations of actionable steps were made.

Needs and Attitudes Related to the Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices Among Latinx Mental Health Professionals.

Empirically supported interventions are warranted to achieve desired clinical outcomes and improve service delivery. Thus, efforts to identify, adopt, and implement Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) are underway across various Latinx communities, including Puerto Ricans, where there is a growing recognition and prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders. This study investigated the needs and attitudes toward EBPs among an interdisciplinary sample of mental health professionals in Puerto Rico. An anonymous survey was distributed to social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors (N = 237). Using structural equation modeling, four dimensions of attitudes towards EBPs (openness, divergence, appeal, and requirement) were regressed on various individual and organizational factors. Some socio-demographic characteristics, educational opportunities, and organizational factors significantly contributed to specific attitudes related to the adoption of EBPs. Female participants and those working in rural settings scored higher in the openness to innovation dimension. Greater organizational support and graduating from a private institution were associated with more divergence from research, while married individuals and those trained on EBPs scored lower on this dimension. The lack of exposure to EBPs in college and younger age predicted greater interest in the appeal of adopting an EBP intervention (i.e., would adopt an EBP if it made sense). No differences in attitudes toward EBPs were found by professional discipline or work setting (i.e., clinical, community, and schools). Recommendations to increase openness and interest in the appeal of EBPs among Spanish-speaking professional communities in Latin America are highlighted.

Health Insurance Access Among US Citizen Children In Mexico: National And Transborder Policy Implications.

More than 500,000 US citizen migrant children were residing in Mexico in 2015, and more than half of them had limited, inadequate health insurance despite their citizenship status. The majority of these children lived in Mexican states near the US border. Despite these numbers, knowledge regarding these children and their health has been scarce. To address these knowledge gaps, we analyzed data from the 2015 Mexican Intercensal Survey to examine whether the health insurance status of US citizen migrant children in Mexico is linked to individual, household, and state factors. We compared rates of insured US citizen migrant children with rates among those who were underinsured. We found high rates of underinsurance among US citizen migrant children, especially in northern Mexican border states. Parental education, labor-force participation, urban residence, and border residence partially accounted for these children's probability of being insured. Our results have implications for binational policies that extend health care protection to US citizen migrant children through reintegration assistance for their parents, an expedited dual-citizenship application process, and exempting these children from the automatic cancellation of US-based health benefits.