title: Mental health issues among urban Korean American immigrants.
abstract: Korean immigrants' perception and understanding of mental health and illness were surveyed during four monthly mental health seminars in New York City. In all, 86 Korean immigrants attended the seminars and 34 completed the survey. The seminar participants were primarily financially stable Korean women who were married, educated, and had lived in America more than 10 years. All seminar leaders were Korean immigrants who were working in the mental health field and/or educational setting. Most of the participants acknowledged the need for mental health services but did not seek professional help and coped with the stressors of immigrant life by endurance, patience, and religion. Feedback from seminar leaders noted the following: (a) greater seminar attendance than anticipated, (b) participants' openness to their mental illness issues, (c) need for tailored mental health program for Koreans. Findings support an understanding of the Korean immigrants' mental health issues as complex, chronic, and serious.
authors.affiliation: Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, City University of New York, USA.
authors.forename: Kunsook S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016746:Transcultural Nursing; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019037:Urban Health Services