Closing the gap on health and mental health disparities has been receiving increasing attention, coming at a time of growing diversity in the U.S. population. There have been several reports, from the U.S. government and others, calling for increased focus on disparities and proposing the elimination of these (IOM, 2001, 2003; USDHHS, 2001). Despite all these efforts, health and mental health disparities are quite pronounced in the Hispanic population. There are a myriad of reasons for these inequalities that seem to include an interplay of social, personal, and environmental factors. This manuscript examines health and mental health disparities in the Hispanic population and suggests some future directions to be considered. © 2005 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Health mental health disparities Hispanics

ethnic group World population distribution Western Hemisphere health care United States mental health North America