Description
Half of people in the US are diagnosed in their lifetimes with a mental and substance use disorder, yet only half access treatment. In low- and middle-income countries, 75-85% of those with a mental and substance use disorder can’t access care. In the US, the mental and substance use disorder treatment gap impacts people with and without health insurance, especially among minoritized socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. mental and substance use disorder disparities among these communities are driven by social and structural determinants of health such as poverty, unemployment, stigma, discrimination, and structural racism. Limited human resources, poor funding, archaic policies and fragmented services cause months of delay in treatment initiation and foster mental health disparities and inequity. Once engaged in treatment, patients often drop out prematurely, and those that stay receive one-size-fits-all care – long-term weekly psychotherapy instead of short-term treatments with or without medications, which is incompatible with a public mental health response. Community mental health detection and care are inexistent, which precludes mental wellness promotion, mental health prevention, and early intervention. Do we have all we need to eliminate the disparities, and do we know how to do it? My answer is yes, however, eliminating the disparities requires change. New policies must secure insurance reimbursement for task-shifting services, which mental health professional organizations and uniformed policymakers may be against. This would open the door to increasing access to immediate care by a well-trained and supervised community mental wellness workforce which then would eliminate waiting lists and offer community case detection. The latter will also procure mental wellness promotion, and early intervention. Leveraging technology would facilitate the scale-up of services, provide rigor and ensure a successful scalability of services.
Format
Recorded webinar.
This content was recorded during the APA 2024 Annual Meeting.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the current state of mental and substance use services disparities.
- Describe the barriers and facilitators to eliminate existing disparities.
- Objective Three: Propose a plan to sustainably eliminate existing mental health disparities.
Target Audience
Residents/Fellows, Psychiatrists, Psychologists
Estimate Time to Complete
Estimated Duration: 1.5 hours
Program Start Date: May 17, 2025
Program End Date: May 17, 2028
How to Earn Credit
Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ may do so after completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (non-physicians) showing the completion date and hours earned.
Continuing Education Credit
In support of improving patient care, the American Psychiatric Association is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
The APA designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Faculty and Planner Disclosures
The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity — including faculty, planners, reviewers or others — are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.
Instructors
- Milton Wainberg, MD. Faculty has disclures to report with
Planners
- Vishal Madaan, MD, Chief of Education and Deputy Medical Director at the American Psychiatric Association.
Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities
The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. Please contact the American Psychiatric Association at 202-559-3900, if you require assistance seven (7) business days prior to the start of a live webinar.
Technical Requirements
This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:
- The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
- Internet Explorer 11+
This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.
Optimal System Configuration:
- Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
- Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
- Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher
Minimum Requirements:
- Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
- Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance