Does Poverty Play a Role in Mental Health

Clinical Question: Why is mental health important in the lower socioeconomic class?
Mental health problems are common in every socioeconomic class. However, when mental health problems occur in the lower socioeconomic class, the people affected often do not have the resources to get help and get better. Mental health problems are often solved or alleviated with medical intervention, especially through cognitive behavioral therapy and talk therapy. However, those in the lower socioeconomic class may not have health insurance or may not have the money to see a therapist that can help them with their problems. With the added stress of labor-intensive jobs that so often plague the lower socioeconomic, having poor mental health could seriously cripple a person within such an income bracket.
Therefore, the clinical question addresses the significance of mental health and its role in promoting better health outcomes for those in the lower socioeconomic class. By examining the possible link poor mental health can have on the body, and see how prevalent mental health problems can be in this class, it could create a clearer picture on what can happen to those experiencing mental health problems that have limited access to resources. It can also provide guidance for future research delving into ways to improve the mental of those with lower incomes.
In terms of finding the articles relevant to the clinical question, the two best search databases are arguably: psychINFO and psychARTICLES. They provide access to articles with themes of mental health and provide recent pertinent information. They also allow use of certain keywords that can provide effective search results. The two main keyword phrases that can be used to find relevant articles for the clinical question are: lower socioeconomic and mental health problems. Although this is basic, it gives a preliminary search more results from which to condense a narrow keyword use for the next round of database search.
When it comes to data, information, knowledge, wisdom continuum, it is important to consider the connection mental health has with socioeconomic status. Does a poor mental health status cause serious problem for those in a lower socioeconomic status? Is there a connection between greater mental health problems and socioeconomic status? Why would there be a greater chance of mental health problems? What resources are missing to help those in this income bracket get the help they need to not be mentally ill?
An article that was selected using the aforementioned keywords shows a connection between mental health issues and socioeconomic status. “A decrease in socioeconomic status was associated with increasing mental health problems. The strength of the correlation varied with age and with different indicators of socioeconomic status, whereas heterogeneous findings were reported for gender and types of mental health problems” (Reiss, 2013, p. 24). If lower socioeconomic status brings a higher likelihood for mental health problems, than this can be further explored in relation to the effects of limited access to resources and how that may play a part in mental health problems. For example, if someone cannot afford a vacation each year, that person has no chance to relax and decrease stress. Access to lower quality food may also be a problem.
Another article mentioned that mental health problems contribute to many missed work days for men. “that the sum of incapacity for men suffering from mental, psychoneurotic and personality disorders, nervousness, debility and migraine headache accounted for 22·8 million work days lost in 1968 alone” (Cooper & Marshall, 2013, p. 3). If mental health problems create missed worked days for people already with lower incomes and job instability, then it is of utmost importance for mental health problems to be alleviated. Such a discovery further guides the scope of the research paper.
Socioeconomic status (SES) also has certain levels of causes and complexities that should be further examined. A third article pulled up from one of the two selected databases suggests race/ethnicity and gender could exacerbate the risk of mental health in a population. The researchers also recognized the need to identify behavioral factors that may directly impact occurrence of mental health problems.
SES plays an important role in SRH and mental health, and this effect is further nuanced by race/ethnicity and gender. Identifying the psychological (neighborhood safety) and behavioral (physical activity) factors that influence mental health and SRH is critical for tailoring interventions and designing programs that can improve overall health (Meyer, Castro-Schilo, & Aguilar-Gaxiola, 2014, p. 1734).
Race is a prominent issue in the United States. One direction that could be followed in this research paper is how does institutional racism attribute to mental health problems among non-white people in the United States and is that connected with socioeconomic status?
In relation to informatics, taking information from research and letting it guide further exploration of data produces a meaningful connection to the data and helps identify underlying themes in information. There is so much information, but to find things that help narrow the topic create a meaningful exchange that produces worthwhile results. Without which, proper formation of hypothesis and results cannot be produced. If being from a lower socioeconomic class can be detrimental to one’s health and race and racism could play a part in it, this produces a whole new level of complexity to the narrative. This is why it is so important to create connections while collecting data.


References
Cooper, C. L., & Marshall, J. (2013). Occupational Sources of Stress: A Review of the Literature Relating to Coronary Heart Disease and Mental Ill Health. From Stress to Wellbeing Volume 1, 3-23. doi:10.1057/9781137310651_1
Meyer, O. L., Castro-Schilo, L., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S. (2014). Determinants of Mental Health and Self-Rated Health: A Model of Socioeconomic Status, Neighborhood Safety, and Physical Activity. American Journal of Public Health, 104(9), 1734-1741. doi:10.2105/ajph.2014.302003
Reiss, F. (2013). Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 90, 24-31. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.026