Team profile by Francisco Banda, Anna de Pourtales, Elaijah Lapay, Sue-Ann Maynard, Vibhav Nandagiri, Sabrina Takemoto-Spraggins, Karina Vasudeva, Olivia Ferris, Sarahi Robles, Stephanie Stan, Rushina Cholera, Andrea Thoumi, Jeylan Close, Michelle Franklin and Greeshma James

In the summer of 2022, our team’s preliminary work consisted of both a literature review and conducting interviews with clinical and community partners working on issues related to Latinx mental health both inside and outside the state of North Carolina. In the fall of 2022, our Bass Connections team built upon the preliminary research, conducted an extensive literature review and had a number of experts join our class to discuss the existing policy landscape.  

Our team decided that it was important to obtain the perspectives of individuals in North Carolina who worked at the forefront of behavioral health care provision to Latinx children. Initially, our team planned to conduct interviews with primary care providers (PCPs) in North Carolina. However, after finding studies referencing the impact of medical interpreters on quality of care for Latinx patients at behavioral health visits, we decided to include interpreter focus groups as well. We also felt it was important to include providers and interpreters from across the state due to the varying resources across clinic settings and differences in care in rural versus urban settings. 

In spring of 2023, our team conducted four total virtual focus groups with a total of 13 participants including PCPs and medical Spanish language interpreters. Through those focus groups, we identified three key themes: tailoring mental healthcare with cultural humility, bridging the provider-interpreter gap and promoting systems-level accountability for healthcare workers.  We created a set of recommendations for improving mental healthcare for Latinx youth that address each of these themes.

First, we found that conversations regarding mental health should be approached with each family’s unique background in mind. Second, interpreters are an essential part of the clinical team, and debriefing and including them in clinical conversations may lead to higher quality care. Finally, reimbursements for extended visits, funded trainings for providers on cultural humility and workforce development programs are necessary to incentivize equitable care for Latinx patients. 

We used our findings to create a policy memo to be shared with providers and policymakers. Additionally, in the summer of 2023 we plan to continue this work by developing a manuscript to submit to academic journals. 

Improving Access to Behavioral and Mental Health Services for Latinx Children in North Carolina

Poster by Francisco Banda, Anna de Pourtales, Elaijah Lapay, Sue-Ann Maynard, Vibhav Nandagiri, Sabrina Takemoto-Spraggins, Karina Vasudeva, Olivia Ferris, Sarahi Robles, Stephanie Stan, Rushina Cholera, Jeylan Close, Michelle Franklin, Greeshma James and Andrea Thoumi