Achieving Mental Health Parity in Public Health and Community Health Education Baccalaureate Programs

Mental illness is one of the leading causes of disease burden across the United States and around the world. Compounding factors such as geographic and demographic disparities, stigma, comorbid physical conditions, inequitable access to affordable treatment, and lack of mental health literacy contribute to the suffering endured by many persons living with poor mental health. U.S. public health professionals agree that addressing mental health is a national health priority. This curriculum evaluation assessed the extent to which mental health courses are required in CEPH-accredited standalone baccalaureate programs. Curricula for each CEPH-accredited program were examined online. Data were collected and a content analysis was utilized to identify baccalaureate programs that required a mental health course. Of the 30 institutions that offered a CEPH-accredited standalone baccalaureate program, only two (6%) required a course that explicitly mentioned “mental” or “mental health” in the title, four (13%) institutions required a course on substance use (i.e., explicitly mentioned “substance,” “alcohol,” “drug,” and/or “tobacco” in the title), and four (13%) institutions required a course indicative of mental health content as identified in the title (e.g., Mind/Body Health, Psychosocial Issues in Public Health, Stress Management, Health Psychology). Mental health education is necessary to address the enormous economic and social costs of mental illness in the U.S. Results from this curriculum evaluation indicate a need for mental health education and reveal the paucity of undergraduate professional preparation programs requiring such training for future public health practitioners.