Social Issues that Impact Health Care Delivery
The delivery of mental healthcare is a complex practice due to the various intersecting aspects of mental health. There are multiple social and political policy issues that are current and have the potential to impact mental health delivery. For instance, current issues such as transgender healthcare, minority healthcare, women’s health, ageism, and immigrant health are currently changing mental healthcare services or creating an artificial lack of services tailored to meet these emerging social and political issues.
The issue of transgender healthcare is among the major social and political policy issues that are significantly impacting care delivery. The need for specialized care for transgender individuals seeking mental healthcare and the lack of supportive or clear policies on providing transgender healthcare makes an already medically and socially vulnerable group face multiple challenges and numerous health disparities within the healthcare system (Wang et al., 2020). Policies that dictate the need to tailor mental healthcare to meet the demands of transgender individuals without considering professional perspectives and competencies may lead to conflicts during the delivery of care, including a limited service or a total lack of access to such services.
Notably, minority health, which comprises healthcare of racial, ethnic, and other social groups that are socially or politically defined as minorities, is characterized by major disparities in health outcomes. Minorities face systemic barriers to healthcare access including discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Access and utilization of mental healthcare services also remain low among minority groups due to a lack of culturally sensitive care (Anakwenze, 2022). The need to provide equitable access to mental healthcare necessitates policies that aim to address the existing disparities in minority health. Such policies may impact the delivery of mental healthcare as they may promote the development of cultural competencies and the diversification of the mental health workforce. Other emerging issues that require tailored approaches to support comprehensive healthcare that meets the needs of specific population groups, such as the elderly, women, and immigrant populations, complicate healthcare delivery.
The lack of services or changes in healthcare services can significantly impact ethnic and racial minority communities. A major impact is the increased risk of significant health disparities with the lack of services or changes in healthcare services. The lack of services risks the exacerbation of existing mental health issues while leading to the development of new cases and commodities and further worsening existing health disparities. Additionally, as the access to and utilization of mental health services is a relational and socially embedded process (Planey et al., 2019), the overall lack of or change in mental healthcare services may lead to reduced help-seeking behaviors, further risking a silent mental health pandemic among minorities. It also risks breaking the care cycle while straining the existing support systems and locking out individuals who need such services. This may lead to the existence of untreated and unmanaged mental health issues within the community with a negative long-term impact on the community’s overall health. Overall, the lack of or a change in mental healthcare services has the potential to negatively impact the health of the community. To address the social and political policy issues in a time when a more tailored mental healthcare is needed, a multisectoral collaborative approach is needed to help deliver more accessible, culturally sensitive mental healthcare within local communities.
References
Anakwenze, O. (2022). The cultural sensitivity continuum of mental health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 306, 115124. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOCSCIMED.2022.115124
Planey, A. M., Smith, S. M. N., Moore, S., & Walker, T. D. (2019). Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking among African American youth and their families: A systematic review study. Children and Youth Services Review, 101, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHILDYOUTH.2019.04.001
Wang, Y., Pan, B., Liu, Y., Wilson, A., Ou, J., & Chen, R. (2020). Health care and mental health challenges for transgender individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet. Diabetes & Endocrinology, 8(7), 564. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(20)30182-0
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Question 
1 Meet with the executive leadership in your practice setting or practicum setting and discuss how social and political policy issues may or currently impact care delivery.
Social Issues that Impact Health Care Delivery
Examples of current issues are transgender healthcare, minority healthcare, women’s health, ageism, and immigrant health. Also, discuss how the lack of services or change in health care services may impact the community.