CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN MENTAL HEALTHCARE AMONGST CENTRAL AMERICAN MIGRANTS

Abstract

Healthcare is an essential aspect of every human life. Every human is entitled to the right to care and must be able to access it to prevent the spread of infections and/ or cure an illness. To deliver care, healthcare professionals must have proficient medical knowledge, but also understanding of patients' health needs. Understanding patients’ needs involves communication, but also the awareness of patients' thoughts and behaviors that might affect the way they receive healthcare. Mental healthcare is one of the priority health conditions of migrants, specifically Central American migrants. Additionally, Central Americans are amongst the new wave of immigrants coming into the United States. Considering the number of Central American immigrants that reside in Houston, Texas, the purpose of this study was to understand what is being done in Houston to provide culturally competent mental health service to this population. In addition to reviewing the literature, we scanned the websites of organizations that offer mental health services in Houston and Los Angeles as a comparison group. Our findings indicate that though Central Americans do not often use mental healthcare because of them attributing it to physical pain, there is lack of adequate providers in Houston to serve this population. In addition, there is not enough research on this population because of being classified into a monolith group as Hispanic/Latino.