Examining Mental Healthcare Underutilization Among Latino Immigrants: Healthcare Providers’ and Community Health Workers’ Perspectives

Authors: Geovani Muñoz

This study explored how community health workers and healthcare providers understand and respond to low use of mental health services among Latino immigrant communities in the United States. Through group discussions, both groups shared that people face many barriers like cost, trust, cultural differences, and difficult life circumstances. Community health workers focused more on everyday signs of emotional distress and strong community relationships, while healthcare providers focused more on clinical symptoms and treatment systems. The study found a gap between how services are designed and how people actually experience mental health needs. It suggests that combining the strengths of community health workers and healthcare providers could make mental health support more accessible and better suited to community realities.