Residency: Formalizing the Research Prospectus

My Degree: Ph.D.

Program Emphasis: Industrial & Organizational Psychology

Ten Strategic Points

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Broad Topic Area Final Topic

Factors Affecting Utilization of Mental Health in Southern Texas

Lit Review

(Theoretical Framework (Theory)

Gaps

Themes

All Citations

Gaps

A. De Luca, Blosnich, Hentschel, King, & Amen (2016). The authors indicate that mental health has emerged as one of the critical areas of focus in recent times, and for a long time, it had been sidelined. However, with the realization that most health conditions are related in one way or another to a mental disorder, this area is now been studied extensively, and more attention has been given to patients.

B. Hamilton, Desai, Hoot, Gearing, Jeong, Meyer, & Begley (2016). The authors reviewed and analyzed how the likelihood of lower hospitalization was associated with the race of African Americans while increasing age was a key predisposing factor in increased likelihood of hospitalization in Fort-Bend county.

C. Augsberger, Yeung, Dougher, & Hahm (2015). The authors of this research article analyzed the hidden barriers to accessing care and utilization of mental health for Asian American Women in the Fort-Bend County of Texas. It showed that 299 women representing 43% of the survey participants have suffered from symptoms of depression or have had suicidal attempts. It examined the mismatch between available services and cultural needs, contribution of Asian society to mental health and contribution of Asian family to the stigma of mental health.

D. Basu, Rehkopf, Siddiqi, Glymour, & Kawachi (2016). The authors of this scholarly research article explored how changes in social policy in recent years have affected women who have low income in the Southern Texas area. They used the approach of difference in difference to estimate associations between health outcomes and welfare reforms among less affected women compared to the most affected women.

Theoretical Foundation

Social Development Theory: The theoretical framework for this research study is comprised of the theory by De Luca et.al. (2016) The authors proposed that most of the chronic conditions and terminal illnesses lead to mental disorders in patients. It compared the variances in the rates of utilization of Mental Health among the African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics in Southern Texas.

Literature Review

A. Empathic Approach: Emphasized the issues of underutilized mental health resources and non-institutionalized adults as behavioral risk factors in Southern Texas. (Augsberger, Yeung, Dougher, & Hahm, 2015; Basu, Rehkopf, Siddiqi, Glymour, & Kawachi, 2016; De Luca, Blosnich, Hentschel, King, & Amen, 2016; Hamilton, Desai, Hoot, Gearing, Jeong, Meyer, & Begley, 2016). There are certain factors that influence the underutilization of mental health services among Asian American women with a history of depression and suicide in Fort-Bend County. There is also a mismatch between available services and cultural needs, contribution of Asian society to mental health and contribution of families to the stigma of mental health. It concluded that mental health utilization is extremely low among all the cultures, especially among women in the county. Augsberger, Yeung, Dougher, & Hahm (2015).

Professional Development:

Job Satisfaction: Mental health has recently emerged as a critical area of interest as it had been sidelined for years. Due to this realization, the illness is now been studied extensively, and more attention has been given to patients. It has been suggested that most of the chronic conditions and terminal illnesses lead to mental disorders in patients. For many reasons, mental health is now among the priorities of medical practice (De Luca et.al. 2016).

Problem Statement

It is not known what is affecting the utilization of mental health in Fort Bend County, Texas.

Research Questions

RQ1- How much higher is the cost for mental health care in the county compared to the rest of Southern Texas?

RQ2- What is the average expenditure per adult enrollee in the area for mental health care?

RQ3- Do the facilities offer state-of-the-art treatments using research and discoveries in the field of mental health?

RQ4- What is the average number of mental health admissions and lengths of stay at behavioral hospitals?

RQ5- Is there a statistically significant difference in the level of utilization of mental health among the different cultures?

RQ6- Is there a statistically significant difference in the number of isolations of behavioral hospitals

Population

Target Population

Sample

· Location – Fort-Bend County, Texas. USA

· Target Population:

· Behavioral Hospitals

· Psychiatrists

· Therapists

· School Counselors

Sample: Will comprise of interviews with 10 hospitals, 10 schools and counselors, 10 Psychiatrists, and 10 Therapists in the county.

Describe Phenomena (qualitative) or Define Variables/Hypotheses (quantitative)

To understand why the people living in Fort-Bend County are not effectively utilizing the mental health resources available to them

· There is a high rate of mental health conditions in Southern Texas

· The Fort-Bend County utilizes very low budget allocation on funding of mental health care

· The utilization of mental health services in Southern Texas is poor compared to cost.

Methodology & Design

Qualitative Descriptive Study

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study is to understand what is affecting the utilization of mental health in Fort Bend County, Texas

Data Collection Approach

· Informed & signed consent from participants

· Visits to hospital sites, schools and other mental health facilities

· Interview with Physicians & Therapist recorded on tape

· Sampling Method: Purposeful Sampling

· Sources: Interviews, Surveys & Questionnaires

Data Analysis Approach

· Data will be collected and analyzed for the study.

· Descriptive statistics will be used in summarizing acquired data.

· Coding will be used to address questions posed.

· A narrative summary will be developed.