By Victoria Hughes-Barrow and Aaron Johnson, Photo: Paolese/stock.adobe.com, Pharmacy Times, November 9, 2023
The importance of mental health, although neglected in the past, has become much more prominent since the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotional, psychological, and social aspects that constitute well-being were impacted, bringing mental health to the forefront of conversations about health and wellness. Now more than ever, it is essential to consider the mental health of populations that were already vulnerable to serious psychological distress.
One of the more vulnerable populations is women, and particularly Black women. Black women constitute a priority population, given the upward trend in suicide rates seen prior to the pandemic from 1999 to 2019 among Black females between the ages of 15 and 44. Within the Black American demographic, women also suffer from severe psychological distress at a rate nearly twice that of men.
It is important to note that research on Black women’s mental health is minimal when compared to other counterparts. This is a dangerous literature gap, given that the lived experiences of Black females are shaped by the convergence of their racial and gender identities in society.
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