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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (4 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2022)

Korean Americans experience many untreated mental health needs, and a significant percentage prefer to seek help from clergy for mental health issues. There is limited scholarship on Korean Americans’ social network characteristics and how they are related to church-goers’ intentions to seek professional mental health services and clergy’s intentions to refer to professional mental health services. Survey data was collected from 163 Korean American church-goers and 77 Korean American clergy in Los Angeles and Orange Counties between December 2020 and October 2021 to investigate if network size, network tie density, and network tie closeness are associated with Korean American church-goers’ intentions to seek professional mental health services and Korean American clergy’s intentions to refer to professional mental health services. Three possible mediators along these pathways were examined: 1) perceived availability of instrumental support; 2) perceived availability of emotional support; and 3) perceived social norms. The third study based on 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with Korean American clergy in Los Angeles and Orange Counties between December 2020 and November 2021 examined clergy’s perceptions and experience of providing mental health referrals to congregants, and what factors they consider in the decision-making process. Findings indicate that for Korean American church-goers, family and friend networks are important contexts for both perceived social norms and intentions related to seeking professional mental health services. Clergy are shaped by multiple social contexts in their referral decision-making process, including family and church networks, as well as friend networks mostly comprised of fellow clergy. The relationship between network characteristics and perceived availability of both instrumental and social support vary for church-goers and clergy by network. Finally, the qualitative study indicates that Korean American clergy mental health referrals are driven by specific factors, including their occupational context. Findings suggest clergy can act as both gateway providers and advocates for professional mental health services, and that more Korean American clergy are willing to make referrals than previously shown in the literature. Future studies can investigate mechanisms of network-specific social support and alter characteristics for pathways to professional mental health services or referrals.

    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2019)

    Rationale

    Little is known about how undocumented immigrants navigate healthcare utilization issues apart from access.

    Objective

    We examine a unique population of undocumented immigrants who have access to healthcare - college students at the University of California - to identify how immigration status hinders mental health service utilization in the absence of barriers related to eligibility and insurance coverage.

    Method

    We conducted semistructured interviews between March and July 2017 with 30 undocumented students at a University of California campus.

    Results

    We argue that undocumented immigration status informs mental health-related illness cognitions to negatively affect students' ability to assess their own mental health and need for services. Students expressed low perceived need because they normalized mental strain as a natural product of their unstable immigration status. Many viewed treatment as futile because it could not address underlying immigration-related issues. They also anticipated stigmas associated with mental illness as well as their own undocumented status.

    Conclusion

    Solutions to address utilization disparities must go beyond eliminating formal barriers to health access and address such psychosocial barriers, as well as the larger political and social context that produces them.
      Cover page: Beyond access: Psychosocial barriers to undocumented students' use of mental health services.
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2024)
      Peer support specialists (peers) who have the lived experience of, and are in recovery from, mental health challenges are increasingly being integrated into mental health care as a reimbursable service across the US. This study describes the ways peers were integrated into Help@Hand, a multi-site innovation project that engaged peers throughout efforts to develop and offer digital mental health interventions across counties/cities (sites) in California. Using a mixed methods design, we collected quantitative data via quarterly online surveys, and qualitative data via semi-annual semi-structured phone interviews with key informants from Help@Hand sites. Quantitative data were summarized as descriptive findings and qualitative data from interviews were analyzed using rapid qualitative analysis methods. In the final analytic phase, interview quotes were used to illustrate the complex realities underlying quantitative responses. 117 quarterly surveys and 46 semi-annual interviews were completed by key informants from 14 sites between September 2020 and January 2023. Peers were integrated across diverse activities for support and implementation of digital mental health interventions, including development of training and educational materials (78.6% of sites), community outreach (64.3%), technology testing (85.7%), technology piloting (90.9%), digital literacy training (71.4%), device distribution (63.6%), technical assistance (72.7%), and cross-site collaboration (66.7%). Peer-engaged activities shifted over time, reflecting project phases. Peer-provided digital literacy training and technology-related support were key ingredients for project implementations. This study indicates the wide range of ways peers can be integrated into digital mental health intervention implementations. Considering contextual readiness for peer integration may enhance their engagement into programmatic activities.
        Cover page: Variability in the Integration of Peers in a Multi-site Digital Mental Health Innovation Project.
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2024)
        BACKGROUND: People with disabilities face many health, economic and social disparities. Loneliness is recognized as a significant issue for this group however, its impact on students with disabilities (SWDs) remains a critically underexplored area of research. Importantly, as higher education continues its transition to the digital space, the potential to entrench social isolation and loneliness within this population has not been examined. This research seeks to explore the associations between SWDs, loneliness, online learning, and academic outcomes in a national survey of university students. METHODS: Using the National College Health Assessment from Spring 2022, this study compared multiple outcomes between different groups of SWDs and students without disabilities. Two ordinal regression models were used to estimate associations between loneliness, disability type and learning mode (online vs. in-person), as well as cumulative grade average (CGA) with disability type. RESULTS: All disability types included within this study were positively associated with increased odds of loneliness for those engaged in online learning compared to students without disabilities. Interactions indicate a significant effect of in-person learning compared with online learning for deaf or hard of hearing students, and those with multiple disabilities. Several disability groups reported decreased odds of higher CGA compared to students without disabilities. CONCLUSION: Loneliness is a significant issue for all SWD groups reported in this study. The impact of disability on academic outcomes is reported herein; however, its impact on medium-to-long term outcomes for these individuals remains unknown. To address inequities in higher education for SWDs, universities must invest more resources to holistically support these students.
          Cover page: Loneliness, online learning and student outcomes in college students living with disabilities: results from the National College Health Assessment Spring 2022.
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