NR443 Week 5 Discussion post.
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School
Chamberlain College of Nursing *
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Course
443
Subject
Health Science
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by BarristerCaterpillarPerson275
Paragraph one: overview of the policy or potential policy. Include how it could impact your community or those you care for positively negatively.
Mental health is an ongoing epidemic here in the U.S. Florida is ranked at 25 in the nation for the commonness of mental illness compared to access of care by Mental Health America (2023). In February
2023, the Kaiser Family Foundation (2023) revealed that 32.3% of adult individuals in the state of Florida
reported mental health conditions of anxiety and/or depression; comparatively the 32.3% of adults in the U.S. also reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. The lack of accessibility to mental health treatments in the past has been presented as a prominent dilemma. Increasing the access to mental health services is pertinent for the population health of Florida.
Paragraph two: Discuss the importance that interdisciplinary collaboration would have related to the policy.
Mental illness that is left untreated has been found to cause considerable financial repercussions for “state and local governments” and imposes an increased damage on the U.S. economy. Significant mental illness can ensnare people into an existence of impoverishment, subjection, and being left homeless. Untreated mental illness can additionally cause to expensive and recurrent hospital admissions, “institutionalization”, and repeated law enforcement and judicial involvement (Dabi (2017)).
These reasons alone are extensive enough for the change needed for the state of Florida. Expanding Medicaid coverage for vital mental health resources can aid in many of these problems.
Paragraph three: Identify any ethical concerns it raises for you and why?
The lack of resources to individuals residing in Florida with mental health issues is concerning. If you do not live in a metropolitan area such as Orlando, Tampa Bay, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, or Tallahassee resources are limited. Many have to drive over an hour to receive mental health services in the state of Florida. Another concern is the lack of medical coverage. Mental Health America (2023) disclosed that Florida has 13.6% (estimated 393,000) individuals with mental health issues that are uninsured. They also disclose that 58.4% (1,679,000) individuals in the state of Florida with mental health issues go untreated. How can this epidemic be addressed? One way is by expanding Medicaid coverage for critical mental health services can help alleviate much of this. Additionally concerning is the
shortage of mental health providers. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (2023), the state of Florida needs 21% (an estimated 509) of practitioners needed. Comparatively, the U.S. needs 27.7% (an estimated 7,871) of practitioners needed. With the current movement toward telemedicine providing mental health services this could potentially relieve much of the stress with accessing providers (Kaiser Family Foundation (2023)). Paragraph four: Compose a Tweet that describes what you have shared with the class.
#MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #FloridaMentalHealth #AmericaMentalHealthCrisis #MakeMentalHealthServicesAffordableandAccessible Resources:
Mental Health America. (2023). The State of Mental Health in America. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america
.
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2023). Mental Health in Florida. https://www.kff.org/statedata/mental-
health-and-substance-use-state-fact-sheets/florida/
. . Dabi, E. (2017).
Florida Must Increase Its Support for Mental Health Services.
Florida Policy Institute. https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-must-increase-its-support-for-mental-
health-services
.
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