Policy Work
Mental Health America Screening also works to promote and advocate for supportive mental health policy through research and education.
Our work
Part of the mission of the MHA online screening program is to further data-driven, upstream, population-level efforts to improve mental health. Our goal is to use screening data to rapidly analyze and disseminate information to help fill unmet needs and gaps in care for our communities. We analyze data based on correlations between screens and results, demographic questions, special populations (e.g. veterans, mothers, LGBTQ+), geography, special needs (e.g. comorbid health conditions, trauma), and access to care.
MHA Screening is not only the largest existing data set of help-seeking individuals for mental health conditions, but it collects data in real-time – as people are actively taking screens. This allows MHA to recognize and respond to changes and trends in the mental health of the nation faster than any other data set in the country. Through future research with MHA Screening, we hope to use this information for the prevention of mental health conditions, especially by addressing root causes and social determinants of health; increased access to early intervention; and more equitable development and allocation of mental health resources and supports.
The MHA Mapping Project
What is the state of mental health in your state or local community?
That question is difficult to answer with any hard numbers. Most federal sources release mental health data on a one-to-two-year delay and the findings are difficult to apply to a local level. But the MHA Mapping Project seeks to change that.
Now, for the first time, the results from millions of mental health screens are being geographically analyzed and shown in real time on a publically available dashboard.
The applications for this information are limitless. It can educate community leaders about areas in need of more mental health resources, assist policymakers in effectively directing state and local funding, and allow researchers to see a clearer picture of the country's mental health landscape.
Our microsite provides a summary of the project work, a dashboard, and implications for future policy work.
State of Mental Health in America
Started in 2014 and published annually, the State of Mental Health in America presents a collection of data and a ranking of states that provides a framework for answering questions about how many people in America need and have access to mental health services.
Given the variability of existing mental health data, MHA developed guidelines to identify mental health measures that are most appropriate for inclusion in our ranking. Indicators were chosen that met the following guidelines:
- Data that are publicly available and as current as possible to provide up-to-date results.
- Data that are available for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Data for both adults and youth.
- Data that captured information regardless of varying utilization of the private and public mental health system.
- Data that could be collected over time to allow for analysis of future changes and trends.
- Adults with any mental illness (AMI)
- Adults with substance use disorder in the past year
- Adults with serious thoughts of suicide
- Youth with at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year
- Youth with substance use disorder in the past year
- Youth with severe MDE
- Adults with AMI who did not receive treatment
- Adults with AMI reporting unmet need
- Adults with AMI who are uninsured
- Adults reporting 14+ mentally unhealthy days a month who could not see a doctor due to costs
- Youth with MDE who did not receive mental health services
- Youth with severe MDE who received some consistent treatment
- Youth with private insurance that did not cover mental or emotional problems
- Students identified with emotional disturbance for an individualized education program
- Mental health workforce availability
The information in previous reports has allowed us to highlight critical trends and gaps across issues of parity, prevention, access to care, incarceration, and the relationship of politics to mental health policy. We've been able to accomplish:
- Receiving coverage from national news outlets such as NBC, NPR, and the Washington Times
- Garnering recognition from politicians in ongoing advocacy work
- Providing individualized consultations to state health departments, state government entities, and state and local advocacy organizations in hopes to improve policies surrounding mental health care
MHA will continue to research and present important topics in mental health care reform — ideally identifying those issues that are most important to our constituencies.
A Framework for public health's role in mental health
In collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Center for Law and Social Justice Policy (CLASP), MHA is working to engage communities that are disproportionately impacted by suicide, state public health agencies, national public health and behavioral health organizations, and communication experts to develop an equity-centered framework that characterizes public health's unique role in suicide prevention and mental health promotion.
The framework is a plain-language tool to help state health officials understand and actualize concrete, evidence-based public health strategies to prevent suicide and promote mental health, focusing on what works in disproportionately affected populations.