NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2
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NURSE-FPX 6026-A1

Capella University

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Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Major discrepancies in diagnostic accuracy, access to care and treatment, and care and treatment quality contribute to the high level of depression observed among Black/African American adults. This is a major public health concern. Structural racism and mental health stigma, and a host of other factors, have contributed to the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of depression among this population (Cunningham, 2024). But the main problem is undertreatment. While lack of treatment hinders improvement in this segment of society, it also exacerbates mental health symptoms and conditions. Building capacity in the primary sector of community-based care and treatment is imperative to improve access to care and treatment of mental health conditions for vulnerable populations. Especially, the early care and treatment seekers among Community Primary-Care populations. Targeted, multidisciplinary efforts are geared toward providing culturally competent and collaborative care to enhance depression related outcomes of Black/African American adults. It is time to turn these recommendations into policy.

Proposed Policy for Improving Depression Care Among Black/African American Adults

The final version of the policy would respond to the screening requirements for culturally responsive depression and integrated behavioral health at the primary care level in the community’s health care system for Black/African American Adults. During the policy implementation process, cultural competency training for health care providers would be implemented in health care organizations where there would be uniform depression screening tools utilized in health care. The policy would also promote communication and cooperation among nurses and physicians, social workers, psychiatrists, and community health workers to enhance cooperation of care and support of the patient. The policy would also relieve stigma and enhance mental health treatment knowledge in the community.

This policy can improve public health and can address challenges of early detection and early intervention of depression. This policy would establish a depression screening instrument to help reduce undertreatment and to provide culturally competent care, and a relaxed, comfortable, and cooperative patient (Shaban et al., 2024). Implementing integrated behavioral care and mental health services would also enhance coordination of health services and shorten the time to referral to mental health services. There are some constraints, including the absence of support funding for staffing issues, that can be addressed by the use of training programs, social partnerships, and the allocated funds for health care.

Reasons for the Need for a Proposed Policy

The effects of racial inequities in mental health care continue to happen. Black/African American adults suffer from high levels of depression, while also suffering from a lack of care for mental health. Various systems of injustice, such as structural racism, provider bias, economic differences, and access to health care services, all combine to create these inequities. The mental health inequities caused by social and structural determinants of inequities continue to inflict harm. The effects of racial inequities in the provision of mental health care are still visible. Black/African American adults suffer from high levels of depression and have access to even less care or support for mental health needs from the current systems. Structural racism, some form of bias on the part of the provider, economic differences, and access to health care services combine to create inequities of a structural nature. These inequities of a structural nature combine to produce inequities of a social nature that continue to cause harm.

An Interprofessional Approach for An Interprofessional Approach for Depression Care Improvement

This policy will need the cooperation of health care professionals from a number of disciplines to be successfully implemented. Nurses will be able to provide screening, education, and case management services for depression. Primary care staff will be able to provide treatment for cases of depression. There are specialized mental health professionals who will be able to provide specialized mental health services and will be able to make community mental health services referrals, such as psychiatric services, psychological services, social work services, and community health worker services (Zabek et al., 2022). An interdisciplinary approach is likely to improve and support the continuity of care, and help provide holistic care to the patient.

As an interdisciplinary team, working together will optimize healthcare delivery as it is efficient and effective to communicate with each other and plan treatment. Coordinated care models reduce the gaps in care, improve follow-up care services, and may even increase adherence to care and the engagement of patients (You et al., 2025). However, there are still some uncertainties about the best evidence-based culturally responsive interventions that are appropriate for the Black/African American community. The implementation of research combined with the education of those involved in mental health and the assessment and review of mental health policy will center this.

Conclusion

There are clear differences among adults with depression. These are huge health equity issues that need to be resolved. Several others that affect mental health are continuing structural racism, mental health stigma, and provider bias. Mental health care providers also lack cultural competence. The recommendation has the added benefit of improving how cultural differences are integrated within depression screenings as well as behavioral health services integrated within primary care in order to meet the objectives for improvement with respect to depression treatment and the outcomes achieved by patients served.