ASIAN AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH

University Of California Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This application requests five years of funding to continue leading-edge research of the National Research Center on Asian American Mental Health (NRCAAMH). The long-term objectives are to make significant theoretical and applied contributions to increase access and better quality of mental health care for Asian Americans. Years of research have demonstrated that Asian Americans have extremely low rates of utilization of mental health services, despite having substantial mental health needs. The specific aims of the research program are to advance knowledge on quality of care for Asian Americans in four aspects of utilization and effectiveness of services: (1) investigate the pathways to mental health care among Filipino Americans, using a longitudinal, prospective design; (2) examine the role of ethnic specific services in facilitating access to care for the Asian American population in different mental health systems; (3) experimentally test whether specific intervention deemed to be culturally consistent with clients are effective compared to standard treatment procedures in psychotherapy; (4) identify and test culturally-based care compared with standard care for Asian American trauma patients. In order to accomplish these aims, NRCAAMH will utilize innovative research designs (e.g., longitudinal, prospective methods) and actual experimental intervention projects that take Asian American mental health research to a new level of understanding of how to devise a culturally effective care system. These strategies that will provide insights and new knowledge into quality of care for Asian Americans. Four projects will be conducted in a multi-site program of research. The projects are carried out under the direction of NRCAAMH which has an organizational structure that promotes collaboration among investigators such that the choice of projects as well as the systematic evaluation of projects are performed by this team of researchers. The organizational components include the Administrative Core, Statistical and Methodology Core, four Research Projects, Executive Committee, National Advisory Board, and community-based agencies.