USC Immigrant Health Initiative hosted Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, and Ph.D. on April 19, 2016. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola is a clinical professor of Internal Medicine at the University of California Davis, he is the founding director of UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities, and is also the director of the Community Engagement Program of the UCD Clinical Translational Science Center.
Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola’s examined the extent and main concerns regarding the mental health treatment gap in the U.S., primarily among Latinos but also among other communities and ethnic/racial groups. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola’s offered some shocking statistics including the following two:
1)“Between 50-90% of people with serious mental disorders have not received appropriate mental health care.”
2) “Latinos are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to terminate treatment prematurely with as many as 60-75% dropping out after one session”.
Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola conferred there are individual, community, and systemic barriers exacerbating the treatment gap. He suggests developing community outreach and engagement; building mental health leadership among different communities, ethnicities/races, and population; and building partnerships and collaborations locally that can improve health care experiences, outcome, reduce cost, and reduce mental health disparities. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola offered some examples of the work he and his partners have been doing with regards to this topic. He also offered great resources that are available on UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities’ website on building partnerships with different communities. Please click on the below link if you are interested in these resources/reports. These resources include examples of the work Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola, his partners, and his collaborators have been doing.
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/crhd/Publications/publications.html