Park Jeongok, Lee Sejeong, Park Gyeryung, Woodward Sue
Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, College of Nursing, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
JBI Yonsei Evidence Based Nursing Centre of Korea, University of Adelaide, Australia.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec;16(1):2514327. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2514327. Epub 2025 Jul 9.
The global immigrant population is increasing annually, and Asian immigrants have a substantial representation within the immigrant population. Due to a myriad of challenges such as acculturation, discrimination, language, and financial issues, immigrants are at high risk of mental health conditions. However, a large-scale mapping of the existing literature regarding these issues has yet to be completed. This study aimed to investigate the mental health conditions, help-seeking behaviours, and factors affecting mental health service utilization among East Asian immigrants residing in Western countries. This study adopted the scoping review methodology based on the Joanna Briggs Institute framework. A comprehensive database search was conducted in May 2024 in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. Search terms were developed based on participants, concept, context framework. The participants were East Asian immigrants and their families, and the concept of interest was mental health help-seeking behaviours and mental health service utilization. Regarding the context, studies targeting East Asian immigrants in Western countries were included. Data were summarized narratively and presented in a tabular and word cloud format. Out of 1990 studies, 31 studies were included. East Asian immigrants often face mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviours. They predominantly sought help from informal sources such as family, friends, religion, and complementary or alternative medicine, rather than from formal sources such as mental health clinics or healthcare professionals. Facilitators of seeking help included recognizing the need for professional help, experiencing severe symptoms, higher levels of acculturation, longer length of stay in the host country. Barriers included stigma, cultural beliefs, and language barriers. The review emphasizes the need for culturally tailored interventions to improve mental health outcomes in this vulnerable population. These results can guide future research and policymaking to address mental health disparities in immigrant communities.
全球移民人口每年都在增加，亚洲移民在移民人口中占相当大的比例。由于文化适应、歧视、语言和经济问题等诸多挑战，移民面临心理健康问题的风险很高。然而，关于这些问题的现有文献的大规模梳理尚未完成。本研究旨在调查居住在西方国家的东亚移民的心理健康状况、求助行为以及影响心理健康服务利用的因素。本研究采用基于乔安娜·布里格斯研究所框架的范围综述方法。2024年5月在PubMed、CINAHL、Embase、Cochrane和谷歌学术进行了全面的数据库搜索。搜索词是根据参与者、概念、背景框架制定的。参与者是东亚移民及其家庭，感兴趣的概念是心理健康求助行为和心理健康服务利用。关于背景，纳入了针对西方国家东亚移民的研究。数据以叙述方式进行总结，并以表格和词云形式呈现。在1990项研究中，纳入了31项研究。东亚移民经常面临心理健康问题，包括抑郁、焦虑和自杀行为。他们主要从家庭、朋友、宗教以及补充或替代医学等非正式渠道寻求帮助，而不是从心理健康诊所或医疗保健专业人员等正式渠道寻求帮助。寻求帮助的促进因素包括认识到需要专业帮助、经历严重症状、更高的文化适应水平、在东道国停留时间更长。障碍包括耻辱感、文化信仰和语言障碍。该综述强调需要进行文化定制干预，以改善这一弱势群体的心理健康结果。这些结果可为未来研究和政策制定提供指导，以解决移民社区的心理健康差距。
