Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Advisor
Jeannette Manger
Abstract
Mental health illness is a pressing American public health concern. Approximately one in five Americans is diagnosed with a mental health condition.1 While cost, location, and physician shortage play a role in one’s access to mental healthcare, research is still determining the effects of mental healthcare access on community safety. Using County Health Rankings (CHR), we analyze the changes in mental health providers between 2016 and 2022 in Alabama and Massachusetts, two states with differing rankings in access to mental healthcare and firearm legislation. We then investigate how access to mental health providers affects community safety (firearm fatalities, suicide rates, and homicide rates). We use paired t-tests, unpaired t-tests, and enter method linear regression analysis to explore our research questions. Our results suggest a statistically significant (p<0.005) increase in mental health providers in Alabama and Massachusetts between 2016 and 2022. However, these changes in mental health providers did not translate into statistically significant changes in community safety.
Repository Citation
Buchinsky, D., & Watts, C. (2024). The Impact of Mental Healthcare Access on Community Safety. Wright State University. Dayton, Ohio.
