Culture Health Blog: Daniel Do (PhD’24) Calls for More Equitable Telemental Health Services
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many inequities in the US healthcare system, especially for LGBTQ+ people and people of color (POC). While telemental health services have expanded greatly since 2020 to address trauma, grief, and other pandemic-exacerbated issues, many marginalized people have experienced discrimination from their white therapists. In his op-ed, Daniel Do (PhD’24) draws on his research with University of Texas Austin PhD candidate Liana Petruzzi to provide actionable steps for society to better support LGBTQ+ and POC mental health.
Excerpt from “The Pandemic Underscored Why We Need Equitable Telemental Health Services” by Daniel Do, originally published on Culture Health Blog:
In March 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued temporary waivers for telehealth services to expand access to healthcare during the pandemic. Telehealth services use remote communication technologies, such as FaceTime, Google Hangouts, or Zoom. This made it easier for people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to receive care through telehealth services while remaining safely at home.
Three weeks after the expansion, the demand was clear. Telehealth services increased by 154 percent, along with a 120 percent increase in tele-behavioral health claims in the spring. But with high demand comes the challenge of accessibility. Recent surveys suggest at least 36 percent of people in America have delayed medical or mental health treatment during the pandemic, and estimates are even higher for BIPOC individuals.
Prior to the pandemic, communities of color were already at increased risk for conditions like depression and anxiety due to structural and interpersonal racism. The pandemic, the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, as well as increased Anti-Asian and anti-immigrant hate, have all contributed to a spike in mental health conditions among Black, Asian, Latino and multi-racial adults; this spike continues to serve as reminders that structural racism persists.”