California AAPI Legislative Caucus Observes National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

(SACRAMENTO, CA) — This July, the California Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Legislative Caucus is observing National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month to bring awareness to the unique challenges that racial and ethnic minorities, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, face in regard to access to care and support for mental health.

While more data is needed about the mental health of AAPI individuals to develop appropriate and effective policy responses, existing data indicates that mental health needs vary significantly across races, ethnicities, age groups, and citizenship status. The rate of suicide ideation has significantly increased among Asian American individuals from 9% to 11% between 2018 and 2021, and Korean and Filipino Americans report higher rates of depression than Chinese and Japanese Americans. Older AAPIs have greater mental health needs, with many reporting increased fear, stress, and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stop AAPI Hate reported in 2021 that AAPIs experienced heightened rates of depressive symptoms and PTSD, as well as growing health inequity issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. “Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI)’ health has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic — from pre-existing health vulnerabilities and experiences of race-based hate incidents during the pandemic. While we honor the experiences of NHPI persons and communities, this report regretfully only focuses on Asian Americans’ experiences due to the small number of NHPI persons in the surveys.”

Asian American & Pacific Islander individuals are also less likely to seek mental health care due to cultural factors and social stigmas. Shame, embarrassment, and the desire to “save face” often play a role in preventing Asian American and Pacific Islander patients from seeking necessary care.

Individuals who do seek care also face significant barriers to health care providers, as well as issues with the quality of care they receive. One in three Asian Americans reported difficulties in accessing mental health services, with prohibitive financial costs, a lack of knowledge about options, and language barriers being cited as common reasons for this difficulty. The patients who do receive care face limited access to culturally and linguistically competent care, which leads to low treatment utilization rates.

The AAPI Legislative Caucus is committed to eliminating the barriers that prevent AAPI community members from receiving the mental health support they need, and fighting for high-quality and culturally-conscious care that will help patients. The Caucus will continue to support crucial policies and initiatives that improve access to and quality of mental health care, a key step toward promoting well-being and equity for our diverse AAPI communities.

# # #

The CA AAPILC serves to represent and advocate for the interests of the AAPI community, including increasing AAPI representation and participation at all levels of government.

Website of the California AAPI Legislative Caucus: https://aapilegcaucus.legislature.ca.gov