Asian Americans (AA) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) are the least likely ethnic groups in the US to seek behavioral health services. While AA and NHPI communities represent a large number of diverse ethnic groups, they share some cultural factors that can impact how they seek behavioral health services and how they respond to strategies in promoting mental health and preventing substance misuse. This Learning Session will explore best practices and cultural responsiveness in addressing mental health and substance misuse among AA and NHPI communities.
This Learning Session was created in partnership with the Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health* (APIC). APIC represents the unique health issues and needs of the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic Asian and Pacific Islander populations. The Caucus has been instrumental in addressing various health equity and social justice issues affecting Asian and Pacific Islander communities, such as improving access to health care, recognizing Asian Americans as under-represented minorities in health research, advocating for immigration reforms and increasing recognition of complementary and alternative medicine among North American physicians, among several other efforts.
*APIC operates under cooperative agreement CDC-RFA-IP21-2106 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this program are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC/HHS
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
Dr. Marielle A. Reataza, MD, MS serves as the Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA), based in Alhambra, California. Dr. Reataza has a broad professional experience as a high school teacher, physician, community advocate, and in health policy and law. Paired with her lived experience as a Filipino-Chinese immigrant, Dr. Reataza strives to amplify the experiences of AA and NHPI communities in advocacy for robust culturally responsive resources, diminished barriers to care, and substance use disorder prevention across AA and NHPI communities
NAPAFASA is a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to mental health advocacy through research, efforts at public health and policy reform, and community empowerment.
Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this learning session.
