title: Disparities in use of mental health and substance abuse services by Asian and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander women.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if disparities exist in lifetime utilization of mental health/substance abuse services among Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) and white mothers. The study sample was comprised of mothers assessed to be at-risk (n = 491) and not at-risk (n = 218) for child maltreatment in the Hawaii Healthy Start Program study. Multiple logistic regression models were used to test the effects of predisposing, need, and enabling factors on utilization of services. Results revealed that, among mothers with depressive symptoms, compared with whites, Asians and NHOPI were significantly less likely to have received services. There were no significant racial differences in use of mental health/substance use services by other factors. These results suggest that racial disparities exist in utilization of mental health/substance abuse services among mothers with depressive symptoms. Future research is needed to identify barriers and facilitators to accessing needed services for Asian and NHOPI women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1960 East-West Road C101, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. vta@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Van M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Ta
authors.forename: Hee-soon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Juon
authors.forename: Andrea C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gielen
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Steinwachs
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duggan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; D044382:Population Groups; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy