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The country's mental health is taking center stage in the minds of Americans as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic fades into the background.

In the U.S., , according to an Ipsos poll published this fall. They join residents of polled by Ipsos reporting similar concerns about health in their nations. That increase in concern is, in part, a result of the traumatic, isolating effects of the pandemic heightening the attention Americans pay to their own mental health, experts say.

"You have an increased awareness of the importance of it, you have an increase in people seeking it, and you now have an increased number of people realizing they're having challenges accessing it," president Katherine Bacon, who holds a doctorate in counselor education, told Â鶹ԭ´´.

It's a challenge felt most acutely by about 30% of the U.S. population that lives in an area with a federally designated , according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

To identify areas of the country most in need of solutions for expanded mental health care access, analyzed data from the , the , and the to break down mental health care access in Union Parish, Louisiana.

This analysis includes 2022 statistics on each county's uninsured population and the number of poor mental health days per month that residents report. The analysis does not account for around 200 counties for which there was no data on mental health care providers.

Union Parish by the numbers
- There are 680:1 residents for every mental health care provider
- Residents report an average of 5.6 poor mental health days per month
- About 10% of residents lack health insurance

Parishes with the least access to mental health care in Louisiana
- #1. Catahoula Parish: 4,403 residents for every mental health care provider
- #2. Assumption Parish: 3,448
- #3. Winn Parish: 2,698

This story features data reporting and writing by Dom DiFurio and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 2,924 counties.