INSTRUCTIONS: Select one ethnic/cultural group from list A and one behavioral health problem from list B: (or can choose something else similar) List A List B African American Depression Hispanic/Latin American Anxiety Native American/American Indian Substance Use/Abuse Asian American Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Recent immigrant group (ANY) Mental health service utilization Undocumented immigrant group (ANY) Eating disorders Sexual Minorities (ANY) Suicide Arab American Severe and persistent mental illness Disabled American Personality Disorders Older Adults Behavioral health and medical comorbidities 1. Find statistics on the rate or prevalence of the condition, or information on the severity or impact for the selected ethnic group. HINT: start with an exploratory literature/web search to ascertain that the group selected from List A is at a significantly higher-risk for a specific condition in List B than a comparison group. The disparity in health status should suggest that special targeting may be necessary for prevention or treatment. 2. Show that there is a health disparity (as seen in the rate or prevalence of the condition, its severity or impact) between the ethnic group chosen and a comparison group. Use multiple sources, including the required textbooks or any website, book or journal articles to gather information. 3. Discuss how this disparity impacts individuals, families and communities, and the field of behavioral health. 4. Outline possible environmental, socioeconomic, social, structural barriers to access, cultural (e.g. health beliefs) or behavioral (e.g. sick behavior, disease preventive behavior) causes that might have produced or contributed to the observed disparity in health status for the selected population. 5. Choose a variable (or small set of variables…e.g. health beliefs or structural barriers to healthcare, etc) that seem(s) to be the major cause or root of the health disparity in question. 6. Discuss some major issues that must be addressed (e.g. health insurance coverage, health education, environmental improvement, education improvement, medical literacy, cultural competence etc) in order to be able to develop strategies to reduce or eliminate the disparity in health status for the selected population. 7. Based upon your self-awareness of these issues and the accumulated knowledge of major issues to be addressed, develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce or eliminate this health disparity for your selected population.
