New Data Brief Highlights Mental and Behavioral Health Disparities

As communities across the country recover from the health effects of the pandemic, individuals are feeling the impact of mental and behavioral health challenges. In particular, America’s most at-risk populations are experiencing these challenges at far greater rates than other groups.

The America's Health Rankings Health Equity in Focus: 2023 Mental and Behavioral Health Data Brief provides objective, national data to measure the breadth, depth and persistence of key mental and behavioral health disparities at the national level among adults and youth across various subpopulation groups. 

This new analysis builds on previous reports by highlighting mental and behavioral health disparities by race/ethnicity, age, gender, disability status and sexual orientation.

The brief analyzed 15 mental and behavioral health measures using data pulled from four national public health surveys over a 10-year period (2011-2021).  

In the brief, mental health includes a person’s emotional, psychological and social well-being while behavioral health has more to do with the specific actions people take and how they can be influenced by an individual’s mental health. These conditions can affect a person’s thoughts, feelings, moods and behaviors.

Why it matters

UnitedHealth Group and the United Health Foundation are working to address health disparities and advance health equity, as described in the 2022 Sustainability Report. But much work remains to achieve more equitable health outcomes. The United Health Foundation encourages the use of America’s Health Rankings reports as a resource for building healthier communities.