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Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
4-29-2025
Year of Publication
2023
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Faculty
Dr. Laura Escobar-Ratliff
Abstract
Mental health technology is a healthcare delivery model of the future. The engagement in virtual healthcare was intensified when traditional healthcare methods were inaccessible during the federal restrictions implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing digital apparatuses for healthcare improved the convenience, efficiency, and accessibility of various mental health services that were inoperable in past healthcare models. However, the historical constructs of stigma, discrimination, inequity, exclusion, and structural racism in mental healthcare were prevalent problems that remained present in virtual mental health platforms concerning the experiences of African-American patients and professionals who utilized the spaces.
This research explored mental health technology through a comprehensive lens of three products: The Systematic literature, The Concept Paper, and The Practice Application paper. The systematic literature review aimed to answer the question, what methods could improve cultural inclusion for African-Americans in mental health technology compared to Caucasians? The analysis identified 26 studies that met the inclusion criteria that specified the African-American race, and mental health technology, with dates ranging from 1999-2022 and written in English. The research was examined via meta-analysis and qualitative review of existing studies. The results concluded that further research was needed to extract feasible outcomes regarding the efficacy of mental health technology platforms for African-American professionals and patients.
The second product, the concept paper, explained the intersectionality of the anti-oppressive and systems theories in mental health technology. The correlation of the frameworks was a guiding factor in identifying the historical constructs and future implications needed to enhance cultural inclusion for African-Americans. The agency exemplar provided the contextual perspective of common problem themes, areas of opportunity for growth, and proposed interventions as resolution strategies. The paper concluded that the development of program development, diversity, equity, and inclusion training, organizational analysis, and enhanced career ladders were necessary to address the cultural inclusion deficits experienced by African-Americans who engaged in the space from professional and patient perspectives.
The third and final product entailed the designated strategies determined to address the grand challenges of mental health technology in the scope of the practice application paper. The practice interventions recommended to resolve the cultural inclusion deficits were identified in a three-strategy approach to resolving the issues. First, the root-cause analysis was utilized as a problem-solving intervention, with behavioral leadership theory examining the interconnection of the cultural changes of the organization correlating to the characteristics displayed by the company’s leadership. The three-tiered method included Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion education, measurement-based quality outcome monitoring, and program/policy redesign. The commonalities of all three products confirmed that further changes were needed to address cultural inclusion through the expansion of intention to explore gaps in service delivery, program design, product development, evidence-based interventions, and career expansion for African-Americans in mental health technology.
Recommended Citation
Cosey-Brown, Nyoki, "Disparities in Mental Health Technology Among African Americans: Breaking Cultural Inclusion Barriers" (2023). DSW Capstone Projects. 56.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/csw_grad_reports/56
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Clinical and Medical Social Work Commons, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Commons, Cognitive Science Commons, Counseling Commons, Health Policy Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Infrastructure Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Organization Development Commons, Other Mental and Social Health Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy Commons, Quality Improvement Commons, Science and Technology Policy Commons, Social Work Commons, Sociology Commons, Strategic Management Policy Commons, Technology and Innovation Commons, Telemedicine Commons
