Mental Health Treatment Utilization and Unmet Mental Health Needs Among Black Reproductive-Age Women in the United States

Black women in the United States experience increased risk for mental disorders and are less likely to have access to appropriate mental health treatment compared with White women. To develop culturally responsive strategies to improve Black women’s access to mental health treatment, the authors evaluated social determinants associated with mental health treatment utilization and unmet mental health needs among Black reproductive-age women with serious psychological distress.

The authors performed a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Data from 2009 to 2019 were pooled and restricted to Black women ages 18–44 years with serious psychological distress (N=4,171). Logistic regressions were conducted to identify personal and social determinants (e.g., education, employment status, poverty, and insurance status) of mental health treatment utilization, alternative mental health treatment utilization (e.g., spiritual support and self-help), and perceived unmet mental health needs.

Education and employment status were significantly associated with all three outcomes. Among the women who reported unmet mental health needs, opposition to treatment and cost were the highest endorsed barriers. Differences were found by pregnancy status, with pregnant women being significantly less likely to endorse cost (p<0.001) and more likely to endorse time and transportation as barriers (p<0.01) to receiving mental health treatment.

Strategies to improve mental health outcomes for Black women should focus on reducing cost and transportation barriers and on the development of culturally responsive intervention approaches that address Black women’s concerns about mental health treatment.