Mental health needs and barriers to service in the Chinese American community: insights gained from focus groups

ABSTRACT

Objectives

Mental health remains an unmet need among Chinese Americans. This study aims to identify specific needs and strategies that may address the needs.

Design

A total of 55 Chinese Americans consented and participated in online focus groups conducted in either Chinese or English using nominal group technique. Participants discussed the following questions, achieved themes, and provided ranking of themes in importance for each: (1) In general, what do people in the Chinese American community think about mental health or emotional well-being? (2) What have you found to be helpful for accessing mental health or emotional well-being services or care in the Chinese American population? And (3) What actions would you suggest to improve mental health and emotional well-being in the Chinese American population?

Results

Across the focus groups, we observed high consistency of top ranked themes including lack of knowledge and awareness, negative impression, lack of Chinese-speaking providers, and that the most helpful factor toward access to care was education and increased awareness. Seminars and trainings was the top actionable suggestion.

Conclusion

The findings are consistent with previous findings and continue to show that Chinese Americans need more education and training and that providers who can speak the language and understand the culture would be very helpful to increase access to care. This study emphasizes addressing mental health disparities in the Chinese American community through awareness, tailored interventions, and barrier removal. Promoting equal access also underscores the need for ongoing assessment and responsive strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• Asian American
• Chinese American
• access to service
• community

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPEMENT GOALS:

• SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants for spending their time in participating in the study and in providing their valuable input. This report is a collaborative effort, with all authors (NB, KLI, JC, HGK, MM, PTL, JYT, PZ, SL and YJL) conceptualizing the study, YJL conducting data analysis, PHL and PZ leading the focus group discussions, PHL drafting the manuscript, and all authors provided critical review.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

Data associated with this report can be made available upon written request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Population improvement award.