List Your Services on the TeleSalud Network Directory!
Do you or your organization offer clinical services or assistance in Spanish in Indiana? The TeleSalud Network has developed a directory to connect rural Indiana Spanish-speakers with culturally responsive behavioral health services.
Check out our website, www.aspintelesalud.org, to complete an interest form and list your services today!
The Need for Spanish-Speaking Healthcare Workforce
A research report on availability of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) therapists by CounselingPsychology.org found that in the United States, there is just one (1) BIPOC therapist per every 1,002 BIPOC individuals.
Indianapolis ranks 36th out of the 45 largest US cities on the availability of bilingual and multilingual therapists: One (1) multilingual therapist per every 3,337 multilingual individuals. This discrepancy in access to a provider who speaks a language other than English is only heightened in rural areas.
The TeleSalud Network aims to mobilize the Spanish-speaking healthcare workforce and connect Hoosiers with culturally appropriate and responsive care.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a $100,000 one-year planning grant to Affiliated Service Providers of Indiana, Inc. (ASPIN) to establish the ASPIN TeleSalud Network, a network of Spanish-speaking mental health therapists. Network members include Bowen Center, a community mental health center, and East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, a Head Start program for farmworkers and migrant families. Through this project, the TeleSalud Network aimed to address health disparities and improve health outcomes for Hispanic/Latino individuals in rural communities who may not otherwise have access to mental health services in their language.
This project focused on three rural counties in northern Indiana: Kosciusko, Marshall and Noble counties. These counties represent 16,527 Hispanic and Latino individuals in the state, 3,040 (16.8%) of those individuals potentially impacted by mental illness. The 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that 64.9% of Hispanic and Latino individuals aged 12+ with any mental illness did not receive treatment. Mental health stigma prevents Hispanic and Latino individuals from seeking care, specifically in rural, tight-knit communities where confidentiality may be difficult.
Through planning activities, ASPIN TeleSalud Network:
1.) Developed and conducted a needs assessment to identify the most critical mental health needs of Spanish-speaking clients to develop a rural health network,
2.) Developed the operations, strategic, and sustainability plans for the ASPIN TeleSalud Network, and
3.) Increased cross-organizational collaboration and obtain community support through the development of a Spanish-speaking mental health and primary care worker advisory committee.
This program was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number 1 P10RH49205 Rural Health Network Development Planning for $100,000. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
Network Members
ASPIN
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project