NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 1
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NURSE-FPX 6026-A1

Capella University

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Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Position papers are the documents used to articulate the findings on critical health problems. One such nursing and health policy position paper is one example of a request for information on the acceptable boundaries of advocating for the vulnerable. This review seeks to evaluate nursing and health policy position papers on the problem of depression in black/african american adults using community-based primary healthcare services. Depression among blacks is an under-reported health issue where there is evidence indicating that these people develop more severe conditions before they access health care services compared to other non-black Americans (Yelton et al., 2022). The purpose of the paper is to evaluate arguments of the pro and con side in order to guide the response of the interprofessional response team.

Position Regarding Health Outcomes

Health Equity is one of the vital components of Public Health. In 2024, African American/Black adults were 36% less likely than the general population of the U.S. to have received mental health services in the past year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], Office of Minority Health, 2025). This statistic illustrates a mental health equity problem among Black Americans and not an issue of insufficient mental health service demand. This is an inequity embedded within the Health Care System. Improving depression health outcomes for this Black Population requires the use of certain targeted interventions for primary care providers.

In the period from April 2020 to January 2022, indicators from the behavioral health screener for non-Hispanic Black individuals showed a significant increase from 25.6% to 35.2% (Bolt 2023). For many years, Black Americans have been and continue to be discriminated against and poorly or under-treated in the healthcare system, which has resulted in many being hesitant to seek out healthcare services (Yelton et al., 2022). Addressing the current barriers and disparities will create the building blocks to ameliorate depression for Black Americans.

Assumptions Underlying the Plan

There are a multitude of assumptions that exist across various types of interprofessional interventions; they all have assumptions concerning the populations being served and/or the healthcare system. As a team, we have assumed that the systematic underdiagnosis of depression among black adults is due to a combination of provider bias and institutional racism. We have also assumed that models of culturally competent care are both feasible and acceptable to community primary care practice (Meredith et al., 2021). Thus, we have assumed that a variety of different models of culturally competent care would both be feasible and acceptable to community primary care practice (Meredith et al., 2021). As such, a multifactorial collection of care and support models would be thought to both address and overcome the mental health inequities that exist today. The basic assumptions underpinning this team are founded upon existing evidence, but these assumptions must be modified as additional evidence becomes available.

Collaborative Role of the Interdisciplinary Team

To address the depression care gap in primary care for Black adults, an effective interprofessional team is required. The application of collaborative care models in addressing the entire continuum of care, including evaluation, treatment initiation, reimbursement, and referral challenges, indicates that interprofessional teams using collaborative care models have a comparative advantage over single-component intervention models in narrowing gaps in care.

Collaborative care models focus on the full continuum of care. The greatest distance collaborative care models can cover seems to be care gaps. These gaps primarily include assessment, initiation of care, evaluation, provision of care, and referral care gaps. When considering collaborative care models in conjunction with interprofessional teams, care gaps can be addressed.

Nurses, as primary care providers, play a crucial role in identifying patients with depression, patient education, and coordination of services. Quality improvement programs focused on patients and explanatory models, sociocultural factors, and treatment options have been found to be useful in improving depression outcomes among African Americans (Mariman et al., 2023). Interprofessional teams, which include nurses and primary care physicians, social workers, psychiatrists, and community health workers, have the ability to provide distinct roles for the delivery of comprehensive and integrated health services.

Challenges in Team Collaboration

Barriers to accessing quality healthcare add to the obstacles that racial and ethnic minorities encounter when attempting to access healthcare services delivered by various professions (Panchal et al., 2024). For example, they often struggle to find accepting providers who have similar racial and ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, they face barriers to obtaining information, and negative stigmas and feelings of embarrassment are present when they seek assistance from the various professionals who comprise the healthcare workforce (Panchal et al., 2024).

Thus, to successfully address these barriers, teams must be able to provide educational and training opportunities on a consistent basis; establish clear lines and methods of communication; and use culturally relevant delivery frameworks.

Evaluation of Evidence and Positions Supporting the Team’s Approach

Additional support for the team’s approach is provided by numerous large studies and organizational position statements. Regarding health and mental health, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates disparities in access and outcomes along racial lines. People of color tend to be undiagnosed and/or untreated for mental health conditions. This may help to provide an explanation for the observed higher rates of suicide and drug overdose among people of color as compared to White individuals.

Considering the evidence above, the team’s interprofessional, culturally competent treatment approach is evidence-based and, from an ethical standpoint, is appropriate.

Knowledge Gaps and Areas of Uncertainty

Research has already demonstrated that there are knowledge gaps that will preclude the development of better quality evidence-based guidance. Culturally relevant collaborative care research recognizes the need for additional studies to fully understand the implementation of these strategies in community settings with different cultures. More specific to this research on culturally responsive care, the missing link has yet to determine the types of culturally responsive care interventions that are most efficient and effective in addressing the needs of Black Americans across the various subgroups.

The research also lacks within-group differences that reflect demographic characteristics such as education level, gender, and immigration status. These differences demonstrate a need for culturally responsive interventions that are designed to best meet the needs of the various subgroups of the race, rather than just the ethnicity or racial category of the person. With regard to the remaining issues, mental health stigma in Black communities creates a major obstacle that cannot be overcome through a targeted clinical approach. These concerns demonstrate a need for broad-based policy reform to create a larger impact on the community compared to the use of only targeted clinical interventions.

There is great variability of opinion among the experts regarding whether models that have been culturally adapted will be the most successful or scalable practice for this population. Others feel that large structural changes (such as increasing the availability and diversity of the health care workforce) would make a greater positive difference and impact on the community compared to the use of only targeted clinical interventions. In 2021, 12.7% of Black Americans of working age had no health insurance, while 7.5% of white Americans were uninsured. Have to give back must be culturally relevant and meet the needs of the multiple subgroups of Black Americans beyond the ethnicity or racial category of specific individuals within the various subgroups. Current or interventional research addresses such gaps.

Disagreeing Evidence and Position

There are differing views among experts regarding whether models that have been culturally adapted will be the most successful or scalable practice for this population. Others feel that systemic changes (such as increasing access to health insurance and a more diverse and equitable health care workforce) would make a greater positive difference and impact on the community compared to the current or targeted clinical interventions. In 2021, 12.7% of Black Americans of working age had no health insurance while 7.5% of white Americans were uninsured. Have to give back and must be culturally relevant and meet the needs of the multiple subgroups of Black Americans beyond the ethnicity or racial category of specific individuals within the various subgroups.

Mental Illness Stigma. Stigma is an attitude, belief, or knowledge that is negative toward individuals with mental illnesses. It can lead to the inequitable outcomes that exist in the mental health of diverse communities. It can obstruct the mental health assistance that is needed by many (Romdhane et al., 2022). Stigma reduction strategies documented. For this population, it cannot be assumed that African Americans will respond the same way. It is important to evaluate stigma reduction strategies developed exclusively for this population. These different perspectives provide the basis for the assumption that higher-order clinical interventions do not necessitate additional community and policy-level interventions and strategies to create change.

Impartial Response to Conflicting Data and Perspectives

The group holds concerns regarding issues relating to the contradictory opinions on the structural elements of mental health care. These matters will be resolved by considering the issue from a constructive point of view. Consider the position of team members for the purpose of developing an action plan. Structural analysis will not be disregarded. The team will adopt a position of structural analysis. The team will adopt a position that arguments stemming from systems will be adopted, along with components from both systems and clinical perspectives, because both will need to progress together.

Special focus areas relating to the provision of mental health care, as well as the engagement of Black/African-American adults and the reduction of mental health care inequities, have been articulated. Implicit herein is the recognition of mental health care inequities. Additional strategies to combine targeted outreach and educational programs, ensure a diverse mental health workforce, and build the cultural competence of mental health providers are crucial to eliminating mental health care inequities (Blackmore et al., 2022). These added approaches will also be incorporated into the framework. The team will be able to create a more integrated and comprehensive approach to all segments of this issue.

Conclusion

A significant portion of Black/African American adults is experiencing depression, and this situation is a significant, correctable inequity within the health care system. There are a significant number of studies that point to Black/African American adults being underdiagnosed and inadequately treated for depression, and this is due to structural racism, as well as the stigma of mental illness, and structural barriers that are present in the health care system. One of the best approaches for community-based primary care to tackle some of the issues is to use interprofessional, culturally competent techniques for the full spectrum of collaboration and integrated models of care.