Using a sample of almost 27,000 persons, this study examined access and level of use by ethnic minority groups of emergency services, inpatient care, individual outpatient visit, and case management…Asians and Hispanics used less emergency and inpatient but more outpatient care than did Whites; Blacks used more emergency and less outpatient care.

“It is hypothesized than individuals from ethnic and racial minority groups have different probabilities of using these services because of both their ethnic backgrounds and the service policies of the providers.”

“The findings of this study confirm that there are differences among racial and ethnic groups in choosing public mental health services. Asians had a lower probability than Whites of using emergency, inpatient, and case management services, and a higher probability of using individual outpatient services. Blacks were less likely than Whites to use the case management and individual outpatient services, but were more likely to use emergency services. Hispanics had a higher probability of using case management and a lower probability of using emergency services, but there was no significant difference between Whites and Hispanics in the use of inpatient and individual outpatient services.”