Enhancing Cultural Humility: Addressing Mental Health Disparities in AANHPI Communities

Introduction Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) individuals experience significant mental health disparities but remain largely underrepresented in mental health research and medical education. Addressing this disparity requires educational interventions that improve knowledge of the unique social, cultural, and systemic barriers AANHPI patients face in accessing mental health care. Methods We developed and implemented a workshop to educate medical students, clinicians, and health-affiliated professionals on providing culturally responsive mental health care to AANHPI populations. Kern's 6-Step Curriculum Development model was used to create a 1-hour workshop involving a presentation, case-based discussions, reflective exercises, interactive components, and pre/postworkshop evaluations of participants’ knowledge, competence, and confidence (5-point scales; 1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree). Presentations focused on disparities among AANHPI subgroups, barriers to receiving mental health care, and strategies for engaging with AANHPI populations. Results Among 54 participants with pre/postworkshop survey responses, 79% were medical learners, 15% clinicians, and 6% other professionals, and mean scores significantly improved in knowledge of AANHPI mental health disparities (2.6 vs 4.2; P < .001), ability to discern sociocultural factors affecting care (3.1 vs 4.2; P < .001), and confidence in conducting psychiatric evaluations of AANHPI patients (2.4 vs 3.3; P < .001). Discussion Implementing this educational workshop significantly improved participants’ knowledge, confidence, and preparedness to address mental health disparities and deliver care to AANHPI populations. Expanding this workshop to reach a broader audience of health care professionals and trainees could promote more equitable, culturally informed mental health care for AANHPI patients.