Mental neurological and substance use disorders among Latino migrant population

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization as a state of wellbeing in which people are aware of their own abilities to cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute to their community. Among the minority groups that may be vulnerable to experiencing greater risks for their physical and mental health and full development is the migrant population. The mobile population's migration experience, from their place of origin to destination translates into psychosocial problems and clearly stressful conditions which could be resolved using certain coping strategies. PURPOSE: To describe sociodemographic characteristics of the Latino migrant population in the United States who visited the Health Windows (HW) and Mobile Health Units (MHU) in 2021, who may have been at risk for mental, neurological or substance use disorders and agreed to a screening for signs and symptoms of mental health conditions. METHOD: Users of the HW and MHU were offered preventive health services and completed a mental health screening. If their results showed signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, they were screened by credentialed professionals from the Psychology Faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. FINDINGS: During 2021 HW and MHU completed a total of 794 mental health screenings of which 84% were completed at HW. Further, 59% were women with an average age of 43, ranging from 7 to 86 years of age. Twenty percent 20% of the population who voluntarily agreed to screening yielded a positive result for some type of mental health symptom or problem. This percentage (37%) was greater among those who consulted MHU. With respect to age, results showed that youth were at greatest risk for mental health problems. Depression and anxiety symptoms related to being a female aged between 18 and 38 and originating from Mexico. The possibility of screening the migrant population made it possible to refer them to psychology or psychiatry services and improve the quality of life of those who accessed the services.