Project Brief

Mental health and well-being is a core component of overall health. This California report examines the structural inequalities communities of color face and policy recommendations to improve mental health and substance use outcomes.

Today, policies, programs, and practice interventions for mental health and substance use largely focus on biological and behavioral factors, often neglecting the conditions and circumstances in which we grow, live, work, and age. Research Action Design collaborated with California Pan-Ethnic Health Network on a policy research project to outline the structural and systemic factors impacting mental health and substance use, and to present policy recommendations to begin improving mental health and substance use outcomes for all Californians.

The policy brief, Mind, Body, Soul. Advancing Mental Health and Substance Use Equity examines structural inequalities that influence mental health and substance use and presents policy recommendations that improve not only mental health and substance use outcomes, but overall health and well-being for all Californians.