Comparative Study of Mental Health Care Availability and Stigma in the United States and South Korea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.2831Keywords:
Mental Health Access, Stigma and Mental Illness, Telehealth, Health Care Disparities, Cross-Cultural ComparisonAbstract
The value of mental health was highlighted by the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which many people struggled due to a lack of social interaction and the pervasiveness of isolation. The rise of mental health care is not just for the United States, but can also be reflected in East Asian countries such as South Korea. This paper seeks to compare the availability of mental health care within the United States and South Korea and how such availability is influenced by factors such as economic barriers and geographical accessibility. In addition, this paper compares people’s willingness to receive aid in the two countries, identifying stigmas and patterns within demographics as well as the influence of cultural values. This paper concludes that the primary barriers in seeking treatment differ between the United States and South Korea. While people in both the United States and South Korea are unable to seek treatment due to geographic and economic barriers, in comparison to the United States, South Korea encounters greater stigma against mental health which serves as the primary inhibitor to seeking treatment. Ultimately, this paper recommends that future research should focus on teenagers under 18, an age demographic underrepresented in the majority of the current available literature. Future studies should also address the need for greater mental health literacy (the ability to define mental health in a way that promotes awareness and treatment-seeking) within South Korea as well as the potential impacts of the stereotyping and biases regarding mental health disorders.
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