Mental Health Service Use and Perceived Unmet Needs for Mental Health Care in Asian Americans

Abstract

Using data from the Asian American Quality of Life (AAQoL, n = 2609) survey, logistic regression models of mental health service use and perceived unmet needs were estimated with background variables, ethnicity, and mental health status. More than 44% of the participants were categorized as having mental distress (Kessler 6 [K6] ≥ 6) and 6.1% as having serious mental illness (SMI, K6 ≥ 13). About 23% had used services (mental health specialist, general doctor, and/or religious leader) for their emotional concerns during the past year, and about 7% reported that there was a time that they needed mental health care but could not get it. In the multivariate analyses, the presence of mental distress and SMI increased the odds of using any service and having perceived unmet needs. Those who had used services exhibited higher odds of reporting unmet needs, calling concerns about the quality of services and user satisfaction.

Self-rated health as a mediator between physical health conditions and depressive symptoms in older Chinese and Korean Americans

“…The Korean sample showed higher scores on functional disability and depressive symptoms, and their self-rated health was more positive than that of the Chinese sample. The high levels of depressive symptoms observed in older Korean Americans are consistent with literature reporting mental health vulnerabilities of the Korean American population in general and its older members in particular [ 20 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…Responding to the dearth of data on older Asian Americans and the persistent challenges in reaching out to them [17][18][19][20], we harmonized two sets of data from older Chinese and Korean Americans (PINE and SOKA), which were independently collected using culturally and linguistically sensitive approaches. With a combined sample size of 5,063, the harmonized data demonstrated similarities and differences in physical and mental health between older Chinese and Korean Americans and provided support for our hypothesized mediation model of selfrated health.…”

“…Also, Asian American subgroups are often combined into one group, with their ethnic variations rarely considered. Constructing Asian American samples that reflect ethnic and linguistic diversities at a national level remains a challenge [ 19 , 20 ]. For this study, we used two large sets of data on older Chinese and Korean Americans: the Population Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE) [ 21 ] and the Study of Older Korean Americans (SOKA) [ 22 ].…”

“…In the present study, we examine the mediating role of self-rated health in two large Asian subgroups: older Chinese and Korean Americans. Due in large part to language barriers, older Asian Americans are often underrepresented in national studies which are based on Englishonly surveys [17][18][19][20]. Also, Asian American subgroups are often combined into one group, with their ethnic variations rarely considered.…”

Experiences of violence and mental health outcomes among Asian American transgender adults in the United States

“…Despites such data, the literature notes that Asian Americans have low mental health service utilization despite existing need. For example, using the Asian American Quality of Life survey, Jang et al [2] noted that while 44% of participants had mental distress, only 23% reported any mental health service utilization. Likewise, in summarizing existing literature, Tung [3] noted that only 8.6% of the Asian American population used any mental health related service, as compared to nearly 18% of the general U.S. population.…”