Abstract
Objective
The authors apply the Institute of Medicine’s definition of health care disparities to college students.
Methods
The analysis pools data from the first two waves of the Healthy Minds Study, a multicampus survey of students’ mental health (N = 13,028). A probit model was used for any past-year service utilization, and group differences in health status were adjusted by transforming the entire distribution for each minority population to approximate the white distribution.
Results
Disparities existed between whites and all minority groups. Compared to other approaches, the predicted service disparities were greater because this method included the effects of mediating SES variables.
Conclusions
Health care disparities persist in the college setting despite improved access and nearly universal insurance coverage. Our findings emphasize the importance of investigating potential sources of disparities beyond geography and coverage.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by the VA South Central (VISN 16) Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center and the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the major research component of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000.
Disclosures
None of the authors have a conflict of interest related to the conduct of this research or the findings delineated above.
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Hunt, J.B., Eisenberg, D., Lu, L. et al. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Care Utilization among U.S. College Students: Applying the Institution of Medicine Definition of Health Care Disparities. Acad Psychiatry 39, 520–526 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0148-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0148-1