Primary or integrative care is a healthcare model that combines physical and behavioral health services into a coordinated patient-centered approach. This model aspires to meet both physical and mental health needs within the same setting, promoting collaboration among healthcare professionals to formulate comprehensive treatment plans.
For the Latino community, integrative care can significantly improve access to behavioral health services and reduce health disparities. By offering culturally and linguistically appropriate care, integrative care addresses barriers such as stigma, language differences, and lack of health insurance. It also enhances treatment engagement and outcomes for conditions like depression, anxiety, and chronic diseases.
The Hispanic/Latino Behavioral Health Center of Excellence is committed to improving access to primary care and integrated services for Latino communities by addressing barriers to service engagement and improving behavioral health outcomes. By implementing culturally driven strategies such as educating healthcare providers about Latino cultural values and health beliefs, the Center fosters trust in the Latino community and improves patient-provider relationships.
Several services and products are designed with the goal of utilizing the expertise of health care providers and their existing relationships with members of the Latino community, in order to make services more accessible, reduce the cost of delivery of services, address financial and geographical barriers, and establish sustainable and innovative solutions to particular health and mental health challenges in response to the needs of Latino communities.
