Perceived discrimination enhances the association between distress and impact related to the murder of George Floyd and unhealthy alcohol use in a survey sample of U.S. Veterans who report drinking

Cano, Monique; Reavis, Jill V.; Pennington, David

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2023.100481

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 63 publications

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“…Black communities experienced increased mental health distress due to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates (Novacek et al, 2020). At the same time, following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others, Black Americans reported heightened feelings of sadness, anger, and distress and had significantly higher symptoms of depression and anxiety (Cano et al, 2023; Eichstaedt et al, 2021). These concurrent events intensified the focus on health equity and prioritization of mental health, demonstrating higher need for VTH-delivered services (Novacek et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black veteran use of video telehealth for mental health care.

Day,

Ecker,

Amspoker

et al. 2024

Psychological Services

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Black veterans experience disparities in mental health (MH) care access and are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Video telehealth to home (VTH) may reduce disparities by addressing barriers, particularly with pandemic-related shifts to remotely delivered care. Considering potential needs for tailored implementation across racial/ethnic groups, we examined differences in VTH use by non-Hispanic Black veterans versus all other races/ethnicities and among Black (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) veterans by age, rurality, and gender during the pandemic. We extracted a cohort of Veterans Health Administration-enrolled veterans receiving at least one MH encounter between October 2019 and September 2020 (n = 1,627,791) from electronic health records. Multilevel linear growth curve models examined the percentage of VTH use for non-Hispanic Black versus other races/ethnicities before and after pandemic onset. Black veteran-only subgroup analyses examined differences by ethnicity in percentage of VTH MH encounters since pandemic onset by age, rurality, and gender, using regression and analysis of covariance models. Despite significant increases in VTH during the pandemic, on average, VTH use was consistently lower for non-Hispanic Black veterans across both periods. During the pandemic, differences in VTH use between non-Hispanic Black and non-Black veterans accelerated over time. VTH use was greater during the pandemic for Black veterans who were Hispanic, younger, urban, and female. Adoption of VTH for MH was low for non-Hispanic Black veterans before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 compared to non-Black groups. Future VTH research and implementation efforts should question why adoption remains low, work to meet cultural needs, and promote equitable adoption for Black veterans. Impact StatementThis study suggests that video telehealth is essential in providing equitable access to mental health care. However, the rapid virtualization of health care demonstrates that non-Hispanic Black veterans are at continued risk of not benefitting from this care modality. Black veterans may benefit from community outreach or tailored approaches to increase video telehealth to home (VTH).

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