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County Health Rankings and Roadmaps: Building a Culture of Health County by County

Year: 1970

Report Finds Access To Mental Health Care Uneven

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute collaborate on the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program to help communities identify and implement solutions that make it easier for people to be healthy in their schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Now in its fifth year, a new measure was introduced about the availability of mental health providers, defined as the ratio of people to mental health providers. This includes psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, and advanced practice nurses who specialize in mental health care.

The 2014 report found:

  • In the average US county, there are 1,620 people for every mental health provider.
  • The population to mental health provider ratio ranges from 72 to 55,969 people per provider.
  • Across the nation, the availability of mental health providers in the healthiest counties is 1.3 times higher than in the least healthy counties.
  • The West and Northeast regions of the county have the best access to mental health providers.

Explore the Rankings Data: www.countyhealthrankings.org