Abstract

Data Disaggregation: Mental Health Symptoms and Treatment Utilization among Asian American College Students

Rachel Banawa¹, Sasha Zhou² (1)University of California, Los Angeles, (2)Wayne State University

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background/Significance
Lack of data disaggregation for Asian Americans (AA) invisibilizes mental health disparities among AA subgroups. To our knowledge, this is the first study that leverages national-level data to understand the mental health experiences of AA college students using disaggregated data.

Objective/Purpose
To identify disparities in mental health symptoms and mental health treatment utilization among AA subgroups, and to identify major barriers to treatment utilization.

Methods
Data were from the most recent administration of the Healthy Minds Study (Fall 2021). We conducted bivariate analyses to examine the prevalence of mental health symptoms and rates of mental health treatment utilization among AA subgroups: East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian. Mental health symptoms included depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and eating disorders. Barriers to mental health treatment utilization were also assessed using univariate analyses.

Results
Compared with Asians overall, Southeast Asians were the only subgroup that consistently had a higher prevalence of mental health symptoms across all categories, including a 9% higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and a 7% higher prevalence of severe depression. However, compared with Asians overall, Southeast Asians with clinically-significant mental health symptoms had a 9% lower rate of mental health treatment utilization. Major treatment barriers among Southeast Asians with clinically-significant mental health symptoms included financial barriers, not having enough time, and difficulties finding a provider that understands them.

Discussion/Conclusions
Significant mental health disparities exist among Southeast Asian college students, yet mental health treatment utilization rates remain low among this group. Culturally-targeted interventions for Southeast Asians should be designed and implemented to address these mental health disparities. Qualitative research should be conducted to generate further insights on the socioeconomic and cultural factors affecting mental health outcomes among Southeast Asians. These findings highlight the urgent need for data disaggregation for better understanding AA mental health needs.

Abstract

Understanding mechanisms for inadequate prenatal health care utilization among Asian American women in Arizona vs. in California

Jay Mantuhac¹, Aggie Yellow Horse, PhD² (1)UCLA Health, (2)Arizona State University

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background/Significance: Lack of reliable and disaggregated data poses challenges for documenting and reducing health inequities among Asian Americans, especially in emerging destinations (e.g., Arizona) compared to traditional destinations (e.g., California).

Objective/Purpose: The goals of this study were to compare the prevalence of inadequate prenatal care utilization in Arizona vs. in California and examine underlying mechanisms for inadequate prenatal health care utilization (i.e., inadequate initiation vs. inadequate received services) for both states.

Methods: Using population data (CDC NCHS’s natality files from 2018-2020; n=218,258) and logistic regression, we examined state-specific models for socioeconomic, demographic and pregnancy-related predictors for three outcomes among Asian American women: no prenatal care utilization, inadequate initiation of prenatal care and inadequate received prenatal services.

Results: Compared to Asian American women in California, women in Arizona were more likely to have received no prenatal care (1.1% vs. 2.8%) and inadequate prenatal care (10.4% vs. 20.7%). Foreign born women were significantly more likely to have inadequate prenatal care in both states (OR=1.33, p=<.001 in CA; OR=1.20, p<.01 in AZ). Lower socioeconomic status was significantly associated with inadequate prenatal care for women in Arizona only (OR=1.19, p<.01).

Discussion/Conclusion: Asian American women in Arizona are more likely to start prenatal care late (inadequate initiation) and receive fewer required services (inadequate number of visits per the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommendations). With geographic diversification of Asian Americans since 2000, understanding Asian American women’s health in emerging destinations is important for effective place-based interventions to eliminate factors for inadequate prenatal care utilization.

Abstract

Evaluating Usability of Health-related Websites by Filipino-Americans and Nursing Informatics Experts

Kathleen Begonia, PhD, MS, RN-BC, CCRN-K CUNY Graduate Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background/Significance:
Filipino-Americans are an understudied minority group with high prevalence and mortality from chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease. Facing barriers to care and lack of culturally appropriate health resources, they frequently use the internet to obtain health information. It is unknown whether Filipino-Americans perceive health-related websites to be useful or easy to use because there are no published usability studies involving this population.

Objective/Purpose:
Using the Technology Acceptance Model as a theoretical framework, this study investigated the difference between website design ratings by experts and the perceptions of Filipino-American users to determine if usability guidelines influenced the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of health-related websites.

Methods:
Four informatics experts evaluated 10 health websites selected from the National Institutes of Health Reporter database. Based on results from heuristic evaluation, websites were divided into two categories: websites that met usability criteria and websites that did not meet usability criteria. The highest and lowest rated websites were evaluated by Filipino-American participants.

Results: This study highlighted the discrepancy between the experts’ and participants’ views of website usability. Filipino-Americans found the culturally-relevant website more useful despite the informatics experts providing a low usability score.

Conclusion: This study adds to the scarce body of Filipino-American research and is a key step towards improving their online health resources. The study aligned with Healthy People 2020 objective to increase the proportion of health-related websites that follow usability principles. The findings serve as an impetus for examining usability guidelines with the involvement of communities of interest.