Wednesday, July 21, 2021 — 2:00 pm ET
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For black and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Month, Magellan is offering a free webinar with their medical directors, Dr. Rakel Beall-Wilkins, MD, MPH, psychiatrist, and Dr. Misty Tu, MD, psychiatrist, as they share their knowledge and tips to support BIPOC mental health and answer questions from the audience.
Course Description:
Impacts from the pandemic have disproportionately affected BIPOC groups, leading to increased stress and mental health concerns. While African Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 30% of COVID-19 cases and 33% of COVID-19 hospitalizations [1]. Data shows that COVID-19-related deaths among BIPOC groups are also disproportionately higher [1]. Among Hispanic adults during the pandemic, reports of increased or newly initiated substance use (SU) was 36.9%, compared to 14.3%–15.6% among all other respondents, symptoms of depression were reported 59% more frequently than by White individuals, and reports of suicidal thoughts/ideation were 4x higher than for African American and White individuals [2]. Among Asian Americans during the pandemic, 32% have reported fear over being threatened or physically attacked, 45% have reported at least one derogatory incident tied to racial or ethnic background, and 81% have reported a general concern that violence against them is increasing [3].
Historically, individuals in racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive treatment for mental health or SU disorders [2]. Among people with any mental illness in 2015, 22% of Asian people and 31% of African American and Hispanic people received treatment, compared to 48% of White people [4].