Mind the gap: Inequalities in mental health care and lack of social support in Parkinson disease

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mind the gap

T2 - Inequalities in mental health care and lack of social support in Parkinson disease

AU - Subramanian, Indu

AU - Hinkle, Jared T.

AU - Chaudhuri, K. Ray

AU - Mari, Zoltan

AU - Fernandez, Hubert

AU - Pontone, Gregory M.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - Inequalities in mental healthcare and lack of social support during the COVID-19 pandemic have lowered quality of life and increased overall burden of disease in people with Parkinson's (PWP). Although the pandemic has brought attention to these inequalities, they are long standing and will persist unless addressed. Lack of awareness of mental health issues is a major barrier and even when recognized disparities based on race, gender, and socioeconomic factors limit access to already scarce resources. Stigma regarding mental illness is highly prevalent and is a major barrier even when adequate care exists. Limited access to mental healthcare during the pandemic and in general increases the burden on caregivers and families. Historically, initiatives to improve mental healthcare for PWP focused on interventions designed for specialty and academic centers generally located in large metropolitan areas, which has created unintended geographic disparities in access. In order to address these issues this point of view suggests a community-based wellness model to extend the reach of mental healthcare resources for PWP.

AB - Inequalities in mental healthcare and lack of social support during the COVID-19 pandemic have lowered quality of life and increased overall burden of disease in people with Parkinson's (PWP). Although the pandemic has brought attention to these inequalities, they are long standing and will persist unless addressed. Lack of awareness of mental health issues is a major barrier and even when recognized disparities based on race, gender, and socioeconomic factors limit access to already scarce resources. Stigma regarding mental illness is highly prevalent and is a major barrier even when adequate care exists. Limited access to mental healthcare during the pandemic and in general increases the burden on caregivers and families. Historically, initiatives to improve mental healthcare for PWP focused on interventions designed for specialty and academic centers generally located in large metropolitan areas, which has created unintended geographic disparities in access. In order to address these issues this point of view suggests a community-based wellness model to extend the reach of mental healthcare resources for PWP.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Disparities

KW - Mental health

KW - Parkinson's disease

KW - Wellness

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120702176&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2021.11.015

DO - 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2021.11.015

M3 - Short survey

C2 - 34887173

AN - SCOPUS:85120702176

SN - 1353-8020

VL - 93

SP - 97

EP - 102

JO - Parkinsonism and Related Disorders

JF - Parkinsonism and Related Disorders

ER -