Advancing Racial Equity in Early Intervention Services for Psychosis: Qualitative Perspectives of Ontrackny Participants, Family Members, and Providers of Color on Addressing Racism & Discrimination

Background and Purpose: Advancing racial equity in Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis is essential for addressing racism and discrimination experienced by Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). OnTrackNY, a network of over 25 teams in New York State delivering multi-disciplinary team-based EIS, sought to engage stakeholders in efforts to enhance care for ethnoracially diverse young adults experiencing racism and discrimination. This quality improvement initiative aimed to understand the impact of racism and discrimination on BIPOC participants, family members, and service providers within OnTrackNY, and to identify stakeholder-driven strategies for enhancing services that address the adverse impacts of racism and promote racial equity within EIS.

Method: Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with BIPOC participants, BIPOC family members, and providers (n=36) in OnTrackNY. Thematic and rapid matrix analysis were used to explore experiences of racism and discrimination, and to identify suggestions for better supporting BIPOC participants and families in EIS.

Results: Overarching themes included having to cope with experiencing racism and discrimination in many forms (e.g., bullying, microaggressions, police violence, structural inequities) across a range of settings (e.g., school, work, healthcare, the legal system) and wanting more support within OnTrackNY. Stakeholder-identified recommendations to enhance practice included increasing OnTrackNY staff diversity, offering education/resources on racism and discrimination, expanding conversations on racism, and increasing partnerships and EIS awareness in the community. Findings were disseminated across the network and used to inform program enhancements (e.g., training content for providers).

Conclusions and Implications: The findings highlight the urgent need to confront racism and discrimination experienced by racially minoritized young individuals, families, and providers in mental health settings. The presentation will spotlight identified strategies to address racism and propose ways for providers to integrate these approaches into routine care.