Health and mental health care disparities in Asian American women: Results from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS)

Minorities frequently receive health care that is inadequate with respect to both quantity and quality. Race and gender disparities in health and health services in this country have been documented but poorly explained. Our study aims to examine race and gender disparities in matters of behavioral and mental health, especially in Asian women using the National Latino Asian American Study (NLAAS), the first population-based national survey for Latino and Asian American regarding mental health issues.

Our study comprised 1,097 Asian American women aged 18 years or older residing in the U.S. All participants were interviewed by trained bilingual interviewers. Methods used were frequency descriptions, crosstab tables, T-test and ANOVAs. Among the respondents, 171 had sought help from service providers regarding mental health related issues. Filipino women had more weight problems while Vietnamese women sought mental health help the least and also had the lowest rate of chronic back and neck pain, headaches and other chronic pain. Chinese women have the lowest incidence of high blood pressure. While the rate of cancer, heart disease and stroke were low among all three groups, they had more ulcers and intestinal problems than white women. Our findings suggest health conditions are different among the Asian subgroups. Health professionals must provide cultural and linguistic minorities with more access and referrals to specialists. Our study aims to fill the gap for the study of Asian Americans regarding mental health care disparities using social, cultural and immigration variables, which are significant indicators to these ethnic groups.