Confronting mental health barriers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community

Anti-Asian rhetoric and incidents have been on the rise in recent years, spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

These types of events reinforce trauma and fear within the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and have profound effects on mental and physical health, says Gilbert Gee, PhD, professor in the Department. of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

“People’s reports of discrimination and unfair treatment have been linked to major depressive disorders, clinical anxiety disorders and mood disorders,” Dr. Gee says. “It takes a pretty large toll on people’s mental health.”

The original article is published on UCLA Health.

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Gaps in Mental Health Care for Asian and Pacific Islander People and Other People of Color

This year, the marking of Lunar New Year was marred by yet another tragic mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, which was closely followed by a second mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California. Many, but not all, of the victims of both shootings were Asian, as were the perpetrators. These shootings occurred against the backdrop of rising racism and discrimination and hate crimes against Asian people amidst the pandemic. Motives for both shootings remain under investigation and mental illness is not a strong predictor of such shootings. However, as efforts are made to help the victims recover and to respond to the broader ripple effects of violence on the health and well-being in these communities, it is important to consider how our health care system meets the mental health care needs of Asian and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) people and other people of color and gaps that could be addressed to improve their care. This policy watch provides insight into these issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to and coincided with worsening mental health across the population, including Asian and NHOPI people.

The original article is published on KFF.

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AHA News: Asian and Pacific Islander Adults Less Likely to Get Mental Health Services Despite Growing Need

WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2022 (American Heart Association News) — Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, FBI data shows that people of Asian descent increasingly have been targets of racially motivated attacks.

“Hate crimes have spilled over to affect the community in dramatic ways. People feel scapegoated and blamed for the pandemic,” said Dr. Howard Kyongju Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

That has fueled a rise in anxiety and depression in a population that is already one of the least likely to access much-needed mental health services, according to the nonprofit Mental Health America.

The original article is published on Health Day.

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