New Study First of Its Kind to Identify Disparities in Rates and Types of Depression Treatment among Racial-Ethnic Subgroups of Medicaid Beneficiaries
Investigators at Morehouse School of Medicine recently published, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment and Treatment Type for Depression in a National Sample of Medicaid Recipients,” the first study of its kind. The manuscript, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Services, highlights a cross-sectional secondary analysis of a nationally representative Medicaid beneficiaries data set, currently housed at the National Center for Primary Care (NCPC) at Morehouse School of Medicine. The data set covers 28 states and the District of Columbia.
This study contributes to evidence about the intersection of social factors and health outcomes and discusses health care engagement, stigma, and policy drivers of racial-ethnic disparities.
Brian McGregor, PhD
Key Findings:
- Rates of depression treatment were lower for African Americans and Hispanics, compared with Caucasians.
- 9% of African Americans, 15.2% of Hispanics, and 11.9% of Caucasians received no treatment.
- African Americans were about half as likely as Caucasians to receive treatment. Hispanics were about a third as likely, and those from other racial-ethnic groups were about a fifth as likely to receive treatment.
- Caucasians were more likely than any other group to receive medication only.
“This study contributes to evidence about the intersection of social factors and health outcomes and discusses health care engagement, stigma, and policy drivers of racial-ethnic disparities,” says Brian McGregor, PhD, lead author on the manuscript and Associate Director of Research in the Kennedy Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity which sits within the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at MSM. This study was conducted in collaboration with the following MSM co-authors:
- Brian McGregor, PhD (SHLI)
- Chaohua Li, MPH (NCPC)
- Peter Baltrus, PhD (NCPC)
- Megan Douglas, J.D. (NCPC)
- Jammie Hopkins, DrPH (SHLI)
- Glenda Wrenn, MD, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
- Kisha Holden, PhD (SHLI)
- Ebony Respress, MSPH (SHLI)
- Anne Gaglioti, MD (NCPC)
