Community Health Worker-Delivered Mental Health Interventions for Latine Populations in the U.S.: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The United States (US) faces a mental health crisis characterized by persistent unmet mental health needs, provider shortages, and pronounced mental health inequities for systematically marginalized communities, including the Latine population. Integrating community health workers (CHWs) into mental healthcare delivery via task-shifting is one promising approach to address longstanding inequities in treatment access. Yet, most studies of CHW mental health models have been conducted outside of the US, necessitating an evaluation of the evidence base for these models domestically, and in particular, their use with Latines living in the US. This systematic review examines the evidence for CHW-delivered mental health interventions for US-based Latines. In total, 27 articles (25 trials) met the eligibility criteria. The majority of interventions were delivered in Spanish to immigrant populations. The most common mental health targets included depression, stress, and parenting or the parent-child relationship. Common intervention components included psychoeducation, general coping skills, behavior management, case management, communication skills, relaxation, and problem solving. The majority of studies found that CHW-delivered interventions led to significant mental health symptom improvements. However, there was a high risk of bias across studies. Thus, there is promising preliminary evidence supporting CHW-delivered mental health interventions for US Latines, but more rigorous evaluation of these models is needed.

Keywords: Community health workers; Latine/x/o/a; Mental health; Promotores de salud; Psychological treatment; Systematic review.