Asian American mental health during COVID-19: A call for task-sharing interventions

Kormendi, Nicole Misun; Brown, Adam D.

In the age of COVID-19, the Asian American community is facing a number of unique risks and barriers to mental health care. Mounting challenges—including language barriers, unemployment, racialized trauma, and anti-Asian violence—threaten the health and wellness of these communities. Yet, structural obstacles prevent Asian Americans from accessing care within the professionalized behavioral health workforce. Leveraging the resources of Asian American peer networks, collectives, and community-based organizations through a task-sharing program presents an attractive alternative for mental health care provision. Investing in task-sharing approaches to care would both address access barriers and build capacity within the Asian American community.