{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T23:52:29Z","timestamp":1791849149363,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]],"date-time":"2025-10-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760572800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>The increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in the United States, particularly among low-income communities, has highlighted significant disparities in access to mental health services. This study investigated the concept of \u201cmental health deserts,\u201d areas with insufficient mental health care providers, in the city of Houston, Texas. By utilizing the Distressed Community Index (DCI) to identify economically disadvantaged areas and sampling Psychology Today\u2019s database of over 3,000 licensed therapists in the Houston area to map mental health service availability, this research aimed to determine the existence and extent of mental health deserts in Houston.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study employed a food desert model as a conceptual framework, comparing the availability of mental health services in economically deprived areas. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the relationship between DCI scores and the number of mental health professionals, types of mental health service professionals, and the education level of providers among <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f96 zip codes and 395 therapists in the city of Houston.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Results showed that certain low-income areas in Houston, particularly those with higher DCI scores (i.e., more distressed), lack adequate mental health resources, possibly qualifying them as mental health deserts.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These areas demonstrate a significant need for targeted interventions at multiple levels to improve access to mental health care. Implications to inform policymakers and healthcare providers about the critical need for mental health infrastructure in economically distressed communities are discussed. By identifying and addressing these gaps, this research aims to contribute to the broader effort of reducing mental health disparities and promoting wellness among underserved populations. The present study is a preliminary examination and meant to initiate more research on mental health deserts in areas with significant need for awareness, intervention, and policy attention.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1571183","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]],"date-time":"2025-10-16T04:17:12Z","timestamp":1760588232000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Addressing mental health deserts: a geographic and economic analysis of mental health service gaps in Houston"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Damien","family":"Kelly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chakema","family":"Carmack","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.658528","article-title":"The role of social determinants in mental health and resilience after disasters: implications for public health policy and practice","volume":"9","author":"Mao","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"262","DOI":"10.1177\/07439156221140787","article-title":"EXPRESS: addressing barriers to mental health wellness: prescriptions for marketing","volume":"42","author":"Kemp","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Public Policy Mark"},{"key":"ref3","volume-title":"The state of mental health in America in 2023","author":"Reinert","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1007\/s40615-014-0045-z","article-title":"Depression in racial and ethnic minorities: the impact of nativity and discrimination","volume":"2","author":"Budhwani","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Racial Ethn Health Disparities"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm7005a3","article-title":"Racial and ethnic disparities in the prevalence of stress and worry, mental health conditions, and increased substance use among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 United States, April and may 2020","volume":"70","author":"McKnight-Eily","year":"2021","journal-title":"MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e232645","DOI":"10.1001\/jamahealthforum.2023.2645","article-title":"Telehealth and in-person mental health service utilization and spending, 2019 to 2022","volume":"4","author":"Cantor","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA Health Forum"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"687","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-021-01909-3","article-title":"Safety nets, maternal mental health, and child mental health outcomes among mothers living in poverty","volume":"30","author":"Radey","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Child Fam Stud"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6084","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348231191243","article-title":"The distressed communities index: a measure of community-level economic deprivation and rate of firearm injuries in Maryland","volume":"89","author":"Akinyemi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am Surg"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"348","DOI":"10.1891\/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00091r1","article-title":"The effect of victimization, mental health, and protective factors on crime and illicit drug use among homeless young adults","volume":"29","author":"Tyler","year":"2014","journal-title":"Violence Vict"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-022-02423-z","article-title":"Homelessness and health-related outcomes: an umbrella review of observational studies and randomized controlled trials","volume":"20","author":"Fornaro","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"691","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapsychiatry.2024.0426","article-title":"Prevalence of mental health disorders among individuals experiencing homelessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"81","author":"Barry","year":"2024","journal-title":"JAMA Psychiatr"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2020.560389","article-title":"Prevalence of mental health problems during virus epidemics in the general public, health care workers and survivors: a rapid review of the evidence","volume":"8","author":"Z\u00fcrcher","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthplace.2014.07.011","article-title":"When are food deserts? 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