In general, people from minority ethnic groups living in the United Kingdom are:
- more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems
- more likely to be diagnosed and admitted to hospital
- more likely to experience a poor outcome from treatment
- more likely to disengage from mainstream mental health services,
- leading to social exclusion and a deterioration in their mental health.
These differences may be explained by a number of factors, including poverty and racism. They may also be due to the fact that mainstream mental health services often fail to understand or meet the needs of minority ethnic communities.
It is likely that some mental health problems in people from minority groups go unreported because of the reluctance of people from those groups to engage with traditional healthcare services. It is also likely that some forms of mental health problems are over-reported in people whose first language is not English.
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Irish people living in the United Kingdom have much higher hospital admission rates for mental health problems compared with other ethnic groups. In particular they have higher rates of depression and alcohol problems and are more likely to commit suicide.
These higher rates may, in part, be caused by the level of social disadvantage experienced by Irish people, including poor housing and social isolation.
Despite these high rates, the needs of Irish people are often not taken into account in planning and delivering mental health services. For example, stereotypical responses to Irish clients by some professionals result in Irish people being excluded from some types of services.
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African Caribbean people living in the United Kingdom have lower rates of minor psychiatric disorders than other ethnic groups but are more likely to be given a diagnosis of severe mental illness. For example, African Caribbean people are 3 to 5 times more likely to be diagnosed and admitted to hospital for schizophrenia than any other group.
However, most of the research in this area has been based on service use statistics. Some research suggests that the actual numbers of African Caribbean people with schizophrenia is much lower than originally thought.
African Caribbean people are also more likely to be held under a section of the Mental Health Act and are more likely to receive medication rather than be offered therapies such as psychotherapy. They are also over-represented in Special Hospitals, secure institutions, medium secure units and prisons.
It has been suggested that community services fail to engage African Caribbean people who have a diagnosis of mental illness. This results in a repeated pattern of contact with mental health and criminal justice services.
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