People From Minority Ethnic Communities Experiencing Mental Illness - Essay Example

Several black people and various ethnic minority groups reside in the United Kingdom and a significant portion of them experience mental illness. The people from minority ethnic groups living in the United Kingdom are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems and they are likely to experience a poor outcome from treatment and similarly, they are likely to disengage from mainstream mental health services which in turn would lead to social exclusion and deterioration in their mental health.

It is really alarming to find the discrimination of our society in terms of employment, hospitality, and social mobility towards the people suffering from mental disorders. They are denied access to some basic amenities and to the decision-making process in various phases of the governance. Their problem associated with mental health was more witnessed after the Second World War due to migration and resettlement (Dianne 2005). The discrimination of these black and ethnic minorities (BME) relative to the majority White population in the rates of mental ill-health, service experience, and service outcome has been increasing day by day which is unhealthy.

(Inside Outside, NIMHE, 2003). The research results revealed that the access by these groups to psychiatric services and preventive health screening programs is highly limited. Moreover, Klimidis et al (2000) reported that ethnic minority group underutilizes psychiatric services. Similarly, Messent & Murrell (2003) highlighted the failure of mainstream mental health services to meet the mental health needs of Bangladeshi women. Some important factors like poverty and racism lead to mental ill-health in ethnic minorities in the UK.

Though it was reported that the mental health problems of black and ethnic minorities were over-reported, the discrimination against these people is very much true and there is a need to reduce this practice.