Definition
Mental health vulnerabilities exist across the lifespan and involve numerous risk factors. Vulnerability involves these complex, interactive, and cumulative risk factors that result in adverse effects on health throughout the lifespan (WHO 2001). The US Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health identifies that “even more than other areas of health and medicine, the mental health field is plagued by disparities in the availability of an access to its services.” These disparities are viewed readily through the lenses of racial and cultural diversity, age, and gender (DHHS 1999, P. vi). There are significant differences in “social, economic and educational contexts among many population groups which subsequently place them at greater risk for poor mental health” (Pearson et al. 2015, p. 14).
Braveman et al. (2011) defined health-care disparities as typically...
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Pearson, G.S. (2020). Ethical Issues in Providing Behavioral Health Treatment to Vulnerable Populations. In: Poff, D., Michalos, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1208-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1208-1
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