Paper Example on Impact of Cultural Conflicts on Mental Health

Introduction

The national institute of mental health (NIMH) is the largest research organization in the globe specializing in mental illness. Its establishment resulted from the implementation of the National Mental Health Act in 1946. As it is located in the United States (US), the NIMH mainly serves the American people but it is a unique organization in the world. The NIMH's mission is to provide national leadership devoted towards the prevention, treatment, and comprehension of mental ailments through elementary research on people's actions and the brain and through epidemiological services and clinical exploration (Garvey, 2016). Similarly, the NIMH helps to devise cures to manage and prevent mental illnesses among the American populace. The NIMH facilitates innovative thinking and ensures scientists utilize an assortment of scientific perspectives to enable further discovery in the growing knowledge of the brain, behavior, and experiences, leading to scientific innovations to help people suffering from mental ailments.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that mental ailments, including suicide, are responsible for over 15% of the burden of disease in the US, which is more than the liability caused by cancer (Corrigan, 2014). Untreated mental diseases have a significant impact on the American population. The latter cost the country an estimated 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which translates to a loss of several billion dollars yearly. Further, mental ailments promote the use and abuse of drugs. Mental diseases among expectant women increase the child mortality rate. Notably, recent crimes such as mass shootings resulting from mental conditions have claimed the lives of innocent Americans and injured many more (Corrigan, 2014). According to information by the WHO, mental illnesses are responsible for the actions of many delinquents in the US, proved by the prevalence of the latter among inmates, especially women, evident in the national incarceration statistics. Based on the account of the NIMH where the edict requires the establishment of the institution, it is evident that the American populace determined the need for the NIMH. As such, the NIMH engages in solidarity work. Sequentially, the NIMH should engage in research to devise ways to eliminate the stigma allied to mental illness to promote the cure and prevention of the latter.

Considering the diversity of cultures in the US, students may experience cultural challenges while dealing with mentally unwell individuals and their families, which is poised to complicate communication between them and the patients or relatives. Different cultures have different opinions about mental ailments and their treatment (Wexler, 2015). As such, this makes it difficult for the students to gather the relevant information to utilize in their research and achieve milestones in their practice. Further, the stigma allied to mental illnesses makes it hard for some patients to cooperate with the researchers and students as many ill individuals fail to acknowledge their condition. Students should identify ways of deriving crucial data from the patients without engaging in a verbal confrontation with the patients by using equipment and interactive means to acquire relevant data. Also, the students should conduct research on patients before beginning their research on the patient's condition to establish a means of achieving a connection with them. The university may support the students by providing the relevant equipment to enable non-verbal communication with the patients and material regarding different cultures and giving the students insight into how to handle the diversity of patients.

Nonetheless, the students face the risk of injury in the process of interacting with patients, and as they are under the mandate of the university, it is liable to for the cost of the injuries to the students. Equally, the students may require specialized equipment that may be costly to obtain, essential to the success of the research. As such, the participation of the students may have an additional financial impact on the university. The NIMH requires additional funding to enable further research and inventions. The funding deficit may increase the cost of the university sustaining the students throughout the research. Similarly, the students face the risk of hostility and in extreme cases physical injury during the study. The lack of adequate funding results from the lack of evidence-based research to verify the existence of certain conditions (Barch, 2016). The diverse cultures make it difficult to obtain the relevant data to include in the latter studies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are likely cultural conflicts due to the diversity of the American populace. The racial and ethnic minority in the US have different opinions about mental illness and treatment. The difference in opinion results from their background on the condition. The diversity of the populace impedes adequate research and treatment of mental ailments. Lack of evidence-based studies inhibits the provision of funds by the relevant authorities. The economic cost of mental illnesses on the nation and the impact on the society is evident. Evidence-based research is essential in finding the solution to the predicament resulting from mental ailments. The nature of the NIMH's solidarity work makes the appropriate partner for the university in service learning, providing real-life experience for the students and paving way for future inventions in mental illness prevention and cure.

References

Barch, D. M. (2016). Common measures for National Institute of Mental Health-funded research. Biological Psychiatry, 79(12), e91-e96.

Corrigan, P. W. (2014). The impact of mental illness stigma on seeking and participating in mental health care. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 15(2), 37-70.

Garvey, M. A. (2016). The national institute of mental health research domain criteria and clinical research in child and adolescent psychiatry. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(2), 93-98.

Wexler, L. C. (2015). Advancing suicide prevention research with rural American Indian and Alaska Native populations. American journal of public health, 105(5), 891-899.