Advocacy Through Legislation: Addressing Mental Health Issues

Advocacy through Legislation
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Identify a problem or concern in your state, community, or organization that has the capacity to be advocated through legislation. Research the issue and complete the sections below. For each topic that requires the listing of criteria, a minimum of two criteria should be identified and discussed. Add more rows as is appropriate for the topic/proposal.
In no more than 250 words, describe the problem, who is affected, and the current ramifications. Explain the consequences if the issue continues.
The prevalence of mental health issues has constantly increased worldwide, while Covid-19 further intensified the situation. Whereas mental health issues are common in urban and rural regions, the rural regions do not have adequate facilities to address the issue. There are three contributing factors to an increased rate of mental illnesses in rural regions. One of them is inadequate access to mental health professionals and centers. According to National Alliance for Mental Illness (2021), over 6,387,811 individuals in Florida live in a community without enough mental health professionals. The second factor relates to the underutilization of mental health services due to the stigma and limited awareness, while the third is the lack of specialty training (Gandhi et al., 2022). The prevalence of mental health conditions dramatically affects the population and the poor, who cannot afford insurance.
The lack of access to mental health facilities can have several consequences. First, when individuals do not receive the appropriate care, it may worsen the situation, which is potentially life-threatening. Brådvik's (2018) research showed that most suicide cases are linked to psychiatric health conditions. Other factors include increased hospitalizations and strain on the emergency services (Brådvik, 2018). Additionally, mental health cases tend to lead to decreased productivity in the workplace, which by extension, affects the income of the people and reduces the quality of life. Third, the community's overall health may suffer, as untreated mental health issues can increase other health problems, such as substance abuse and chronic illnesses. If the issue is left unaddressed, the consequences will be far-reaching and long-lasting, affecting not only individuals but also their families and the community as a whole
The idea for Addressing the Solution
In no more than 250 words, outline your idea for addressing the issue and explain why legislation is the best course for advocacy.
Telemedicine for mental health is one of the most suitable ways to solve the issue of mental health in rural regions. Telemedicine helps medical health practitioners to diagnose and treat healthcare conditions from a distance (Haleem et al., 2021). Hyder and Razzak (2020) state that 76% of hospitals in the US utilized telehealth services, with psychiatry taking up 27.8% of the most frequent telehealth users. In the face of covid 19, the relevance of telehealth has become more acute. Telemedicine services will help increase access to mental health facilities and help with cost savings significantly since it will cut travel expenses while ...