GV Health Check In shows mental health in Michigan continues to decline

Reported by GVNext, the state of mental health sloped downward in Michigan following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Grand Valley State University researchers have studied and collected data recently publishing their work.

According to their projections, the mental health decline in Michigan has actually worsened since the end of the pandemic.

Faculty and staff at GVSU have recently come forward with their findings regarding mental health, suicide and drug overdose rates for the state of Michigan since the pandemic. This data is showing heightened levels of “poor mental health days,” particularly for people of color in West Michigan and Detroit.

The mental health data was presented at the 15th annual West Michigan Health Care Economic Forecast. Ermen Aslim, assistant professor of economics at GVSU, said the data trends collected by the Siedman College of Business and the Kirkhof College of Nursing could be nearly double the rate of poor mental health in Michigan in 2019.

“It tells a story that mental health exasperation can be linked with more opioid use and a higher suicide rate,” Aslim said.

Daniel Montanera, assistant professor of economics, said emergency visits in Detroit and Grand Rapids also spiked in 2021. This was noteworthy because, for the first time, the city of Grand Rapids nearly matched the historically high emergency room visits for the city of Detroit.

The conference took place on Feb. 10 at the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health in Grand Rapids. The event was sponsored by Priority Health and the Blue Cross Blue Shield/Blue Care Network, according to GVNext.

The data and research presented at the conference is posted publicly on the GVSU website under “Health Economic Forecast” under the Bonnie Wesorick Center for Health Care Transformation page. Previous years’ Health Check data are also available to the public on the website.

The mental health forecast provides a snapshot for mental stability and personal health welfare in the state of Michigan.