(PS6-65) Disparities in Mental Health Service Utilization: Examining the Roles of Race, LGBT Identity, and Socioeconomic Factors

Abstract Text: Individuals belonging to minoritized groups (e.g., people of color, individuals identifying as LGBT) have high prevalence rates of psychiatric conditions (Chodzen et al., 2019) and low rates of mental health service utilization compared to their White, cisgender, heterosexual, and higher income counterparts (Lipson et al., 2018). Likely contributing factors include inequitable access, stigma, and cultural factors, and symptom severity and chronicity (Eylem et al., 2020; Loeb et al., 2023). Specific reasons for low utilization are difficult to pinpoint at the individual level due to complex, interrelated factors affecting minoritized groups, and this lack of specificity makes it difficult to address the problem. The current study examined differences in mental health service utilization rates among diverse racial and socioeconomic groups, as well as variations in distress levels and types of presenting problems at intake. Data were collected from a sample of patients (N = 1312) in an outpatient mental health clinic that serves the employees of a large hospital system. The sample is unique in that it draws from a specific and well-defined community of 30,000 hospital employees with a known demographic and socioeconomic makeup, which allows for a direct comparison between groups. Additionally, the clinic was designed to remove traditional barriers to mental healthcare for the employees (e.g., cost, transportation, obtaining leave from work), which rules out some of the factors that tend to co-vary with belonging to a minoritized group. Thus, the objective of the study is to examine the degree to which disparities in mental health service utilization and the types of problems for which different groups present for treatment remain after reducing the impact of those factors. Data analysis for this study is ongoing and will include between-groups comparisons of distress levels (based on self-report questionnaires) and mental health service utilization across race, age, gender identify, sexual orientation, education, and occupation. Results of this study will provide insight about remaining barriers to accessing mental healthcare and guide clinicians and researchers to take effective steps to reduce mental health disparities.