Addressing racial and ethnic minority mental health disparities research gaps

Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall enter into an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (or, if the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decline to enter into such an arrangement, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute or another appropriate entity)— (1) to conduct a study with respect to mental health disparities research gaps in racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g))); and (2) to submit to Congress a report on the results of such study, including— (A) a compilation of information on the prevalence of mental health outcomes in such racial and ethnic minority groups; (B) an assessment of information on the impact of exposure to community violence, adverse childhood experiences, structural bias, and other psychological traumas on mental health outcomes in such racial and minority groups; and (C) a selection of potential recommendations that can remedy the research gap in such racial and ethnic minority groups. If no arrangement can be made with an entity specified in the previous sentence, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall conduct the study and submit the report, as described in paragraphs (1) and (2).