Posted on September 16, 2010 13:18
Categories: Special Populations | State and Local | Mental Health | Treatment and Recovery
Topics: Access/Barriers | Mental Health | Quality | Spending | State Data | Treatment
On August 13, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released a survey gauging attitudes of New Orleans residents five years after Hurricane Katrina and following up on similar KFF surveys from 2006 and 2008. The 2010 survey found that the number of residents afflicted by a serious mental illness (SMI) rose to 16 percent in 2010, up from 15 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 2006. The percentage of residents taking prescription medication for mental health treatment declined from 17 percent in 2008 to 16 percent in 2010; however, that rate remains greater than the 8 percent that reported taking the medications in 2006. In addition, 55 percent of residents report that their health care needs are being met “very well,” up from 42 percent in 2008 and 36 percent in 2006. However, 77 percent say that there are insufficient health care services available and 20 percent of residents are uninsured. The survey found significant racial disparity in both access to and perceptions of the health care system, with African-Americans reporting greater difficulty accessing care and a less positive perception of the system.
From the report:
The report below provides an unusually thorough look at how residents view the rebuilding process, the extent to which they see New Orleans as having healed from Katrina, and the extent to which they expect to be impacted by the Gulf Coast oil spill. It also assesses residents’ feelings about hot topics such as health care, jobs, crime and political corruption and catalogues the extent to which they are facing challenges paying bills, finding and keeping good jobs, and getting needed medical services in this difficult economy. Finally, the survey allows us to paint a picture of a city which remains divided by race and income, even as race relations seem to be on a positive trajectory.
Full report: New Orleans Five Years After the Storm: A New Disaster Amid Recovery (PDF | KB) 
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2010). New Orleans five years after the storm: a new disaster amid recovery.
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