National Trends in Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Care

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Abstract
To compare trends in office-based treatment of mental disorders between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Analysis of a nationally representative sample of visits to office-based physicians conducted between 1993 and 2002 (N = 251,905). Visits were grouped into 3 discrete time periods, 1993–1996, 1997–1999 and 2000–2002. Rate of diagnosis, type of mental health visit, type of treatment received (medication or psychotherapy), rate of psychotropic medications prescription, and specialty of the treating physician. From 1993–1996 to 2000–2002, the proportion of office visits in which mental health care was provided decreased for Hispanics from 12.2% to 11.7% while it increased from 13.1% to 15.7% for non-Hispanics (P Conclusions: From 1993 to 2002, there was an increase in mental health care disparities between Hispanics and non-Hispanics treated by office-based physicians. Improvement of the mental health care for Hispanics continues to be an important public health priority, with clear opportunities and challenges for health care policy-makers and practitioners.