Asian Americans' differential patterns of utilization of inpatient and outpatient public mental health services in Hawaii

Abstract

The major purpose of the present study was to examine Asian Americans' differential patterns of utilization of mental health services in Hawaii. It was proposed that an analysis of Asian Americans' differential patterns of utilization of inpatient and outpatient mental health services may provide some clues to the reasons behind their overall pattern of underutilization. More specifically, whereas it has been established in many studies that Asian Americans tend to underutilize mental health services, the present research questions are directed at determining if Asian Americans tend to (a) underutilize inpatient mental health services, (b) overutilize or use at their representative level outpatient mental health services, and (c) exhibit different patterns in the sources of referral into the mental health system. Using a dataset from the state of Hawaii's Department of Health, mental health service utilization rates for three Asian-American groups (Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino) were compared to each other and to those of White Americans. It was found that there were ethnic subgroups (e.g., Chinese versus Filipino) and intergroup differences (i.e., Asian versus White) in the utilization of inpatient and outpatient mental health services as well as in sources of referral into the mental health system. The clinical and research implications of the findings are discussed.