Examining Health-Related Factors Among an Ethnically Diverse Group of Asian-American Mental Health Clients

Abstract

As currently developed, health policies and practices consider Asian Americans as one homogenous group, ignoring the unique differences of each group regarding its own healthcare needs. In fact, the healthcare needs of mental health clients have received little attention in the professional literature. The purpose of this article is to investigate the diverse healthcare needs of Asian Americans seeking mental health services. The authors reviewed the literature on healthcare for ethnic minority groups while focusing primarily on Asian Americans and analyzing these needs as they relate to mental health-seeking clients. The results indicate that Korean Americans are faring less well than either Japanese or Chinese Americans. The authors discuss the implications for health policy, practice, and education.

KEYWORDS:

• Asian Americans
• health disparities
• mental health disparities
• healthcare service use
• mental health care service use