Pittsburgh is the second-most populous city in Philadelphia and the seat of Alleghany County. 20.4% of the 302,971 residents live in poverty. Alleghany County is ranked 24th for health outcomes like quality of life and life expectancy and 10th for health factors like health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Residents report 4.6 poor mental health days every month, which is half a day greater than the national average of 4.1.
In 2021, Mental Health America ranked Pennsylvania 2nd overall in the country for mental health according to 15 adult and youth measures of mental illness prevalence and access to care. 1,814,000 or 18.23% of adults experienced a mental illness (ranking 11th) and 109,000 or 11.8% of youth ages 12-17 suffered from at least one major depressive episode in the past year (ranking 3rd). 727,000 or 7.3% of adults (ranking 15th) and 31,000 or 3.42% of youth (ranking 9th) reported having a substance use disorder in the past year.
953,000 or 53% of adults with a mental illness received no treatment in Pennsylvania (ranking 21st). 480,000 or 26.8% of adults with a mental illness sought treatment but did not receive what they needed (ranking 44th) due to no insurance or limited insurance, lack of available providers and treatment types, a disconnect between primary care and behavioral health systems, and cost. 108,000 or 6% of adults with mental illness were uninsured (ranking 8th). 277,857 or 22.48% of adults with a cognitive disability were not able to see a doctor due to costs. A cognitive disability is defined as having serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional disability.
56,000 or 57.5% of youth with major depression did not receive treatment (ranking 28th). 23,000 or 37.1% of youth with severe major depression received some consistent treatment (ranking 10th) such as a day treatment facility, mental health clinic, private therapist, or in-home therapist, more than 7 times in the year. 29,000 or 6.1% of youth with private insurance did not have their mental health care covered by insurance, despite the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) that promises equal coverage of mental health services.
The ratio of mental health care providers to residents in Pennsylvania is 480:1 (ranking 34th).
Sources
- Pittsburgh. Wikipedia. [Accessed September 2021]
- Pennsylvania: 2021 State Level Data and Ranks. County Health Rankings & Roadmap. [Accessed September 2021]
- Pennsylvania: Compare Counties. County Health Rankings & Roadmap. [Accessed September 2021]
- The State of Mental Health in America 2021. Mental Health America. [Accessed September 2021]
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