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Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

Improved Mental Health and Well-Being

It is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness. Access to safe and reliable transportation is closely intertwined with mental health status. Transportation and mental health is a bidirectional relationship since mental health issues can prevent individuals from accessing transportation, and a lack of transportation can prevent social interactions and lead to a decline in mental health status. Fortunately, there are numerous transportation design elements can promote mental health and well-being. For example, factors such as convenience, physical and financial accessibility, connection to essential destinations (such as work, school, healthcare, or leisure activities), traffic safety, access to green space, pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure, and other design elements can reduce the risk of mental health issues.

This indicator helps determine the effectiveness of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Data Collection

Collecting and assessing data regarding mental health status for a large population is challenging due to its qualitative nature; however, surveys can offer insight into specific issues regarding transportation impacts on mental health. These surveys can be used to generate community needs assessments (CNAs) that gather demographic data, survey results, and other informal feedback from the community members themselves.

Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services collects behavioral health—including mental health prevalence—data from different sources. This data can help public health researchers, transportation experts, and policymakers understand which populations might benefit from transportation-related interventions to improve mental health status. In addition to SAMHSA, there are a number of other data sets where users can access mental health data, such as the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) that collects information on mental illness and other risk factors.

Examples

Psychiatric Transportation

Since a lack of transportation to healthcare is one of the risk factors to developing or worsening a mental illness, providing psychiatric transportation is one method to address this issue. Communities can developed fixed-route transportation services for patients to get the mental healthcare they need. This can reduce the stigma of care, reduce costs to individuals, and improve safety.

https://abbamt.com/how-psychiatric-transportation-has-improved-mental-health/