African Americans and mental health:how does stigma and disparities, cultural mistrust, and religion effect mental health services?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how barriers hinder African Americans from seeking mental health services. Research Question: How does stigma effect African-Americans reluctance to utilize mental health services? Methods: Articles were coded if they addressed stigma, mental health amongst the African American population, and healthcare. Results: Themes discussed were stigma and disparities as they relate to mental health, cultural mistrust, religion. Discussion: The researcher found that the articles utilized in the content analysis correlate with previous data regarding stigma as it relates to African Americans and their utilization of mental health services.