Mental Health Service Use Types Among Asian Americans with a Psychiatric Disorder: Considerations of Culture and Need

Despite levels of need that are comparable with other groups, relatively few Asian Americans receive mental health care. While studies have described the tendency for Asian Americans to delay care until mental health symptoms are severe, relatively little research has examined how the severity of sy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of behavioral health services & research 2014-10, Vol.41 (4), p.520-528
Main Authors: Nguyen, Duy, Bornheimer, Lindsay A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Asian American people
Asian Americans
Asian Americans - ethnology
Asian Americans - psychology
Communication Barriers
Community and Environmental Psychology
Cultural Competency
Female
Health care
Health Informatics
Health needs
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Health Psychology
Health services utilization
Health Surveys
Healthcare Disparities - ethnology
Help seeking behavior
Humans
Interview, Psychological
Male
Medical research
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - ethnology
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental health
Mental health care
Mental health services
Mental Health Services - utilization
Minority & ethnic groups
Perceptions
Psychiatry
Public Health
Service provision
Severity
Social networks
Statistical analysis
Symptoms
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Summary:Despite levels of need that are comparable with other groups, relatively few Asian Americans receive mental health care. While studies have described the tendency for Asian Americans to delay care until mental health symptoms are severe, relatively little research has examined how the severity of symptoms impact mental health service use. This study uses publicly available data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and focuses solely on Asian American respondents with a psychiatric disorder ( n  = 230). Unexpectedly, few Asian Americans with a psychiatric disorder received care in a medical setting. The perception of mental health needs increased the likelihood of using mental health specialist care. Social and systemic barriers together hinder mental health service use. Implications for addressing Asian American mental health service use within a changing health care environment are discussed.
ISSN:1094-3412
1556-3308
DOI:10.1007/s11414-013-9383-6