The National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center at the Universidad Central del Caribe wants to highlight our panel titled:
The Intersection of Racism, Discrimination and Mental Health in Communities of Color
he term institutional racism was first used with the intent of differentiating individual racist acts from policies or practices that are built into the structures of various social institutions and which continue to operate even without the active support and maintenance of individuals.
Seen from this angle, discrimination, and racism more specifically, exists on a spectrum ranging from individual to the institutional to the structural. In the United States, 92% of Blacks, 78% of Latinxs, 75% of Native Americans, and 61% of Asian Americans have reported experiencing racial discrimination in the form of racial slurs, violence, threats, and harassment. Discrimination is associated with poor mental and physical health, unhealthy behaviors, declines in the utilization of care, and nonadherence to medical recommendations and treatment.
This panel will discuss terms related to racism, institutional racism, and prejudice and their impact on the mental health of communities of color. Panelists will address, practices, policies, and regulations that perpetuate an imbalance of power and opportunity in mental health systems for communities of color and will provide recommendations for practitioners.
