Culturally-appropriate mental health services lacking for NZ’s Chinese community

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-06-10 10:29

New Zealand

PHOTO: Priscilla du Preez/Unsplash

Researchers interviewed 16 professionals about their experiences delivering mental health services for ethnic Chinese in Aotearoa New Zealand. Practitioners thought the patient experience was inadequate, with a lack of language and culturally-appropriate services leading to delays in seeking help, often until a late-stage “breaking point”. The team calls for a renewed focus on these services to adequately meet the needs of the rapidly growing ethnic Chinese community.

Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Mental health providers were interviewed about their experiences providing mental health care to ethnic
Chinese in Aotearoa, their opinions about their patients’ experiences and their suggestions to improve the
system. They highlighted stigmatisation and a lack of appropriate services as key reasons behind ethnic
Chinese delaying help-seeking, often until a late-stage “breaking point”. Providers often said they felt
“ignored,” with long-standing concerns around ethnic Chinese mental health, workload concerns and the
financial sustainability of service providers not taken seriously. Decisive Government leadership and deeper
collaboration between non-Government organisations will be key to improving mental health service
accessibility and outcomes.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Otago

Funder: n/a

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