Mental Health Service Use among Asian Americans Five to Six Years after Exposure to the World Trade Center Attack

This study uses World Trade Center Health Registry data, based on Andersen's health-care model, to investigate 2,557 Asians' mental health service use and associated factors 5-6 years after the World Trade Center attack, compared against 32,111 non-Hispanic white participants. We find that Asians had a lower proportion of service use (15.76 vs. 26.60 percent) than white people. A previous mental health diagnosis and perceived and evaluated mental health needs strongly predicted Asians' mental health service use, as did having routine medical checkups, being female, and being married or cohabiting. These factors, in addition to other socioeconomic predictors that were nonsignificant among Asians, were significant among white people, as well. Our findings suggest that service providers need to provide clear diagnoses to service users, explore mental health needs during medical checkups, and provide postdisaster mental health education and free treatment.