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The Affordable Care Act and integrated behavioral health programs in community health centers to promote utilization of mental health services among Asian Americans

  • Practice and Public Health Policies
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

An Erratum to this article was published on 17 May 2016

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act has greatly expanded health care coverage and recognizes mental health as a major priority. However, individuals suffering from mental health disorders still face layered barriers to receiving health care, especially Asian Americans. Integration of behavioral health services within primary care is a viable way of addressing underutilization of mental health services. This paper provides insight into a comprehensive care approach integrating behavioral health services into primary care to address underutilization of mental health services in the Asian American population. True integration of behavioral health services into primary care will require financial support and payment reform to address multi-disciplinary care needs and optimize care coordination, as well as training and workforce development early in medical and mental health training programs to develop the skills that aid prevention, early identification, and intervention. Funding research on evidence-based practice oriented to the Asian American population needs to continue.

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Acknowledgments

Asian Health Services’ integrated behavioral health program was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHCS). We are grateful to the University of Washington AIMS Center for providing technical assistance and support during the development of our overall behavioral health program as well as the Alameda Behavioral Health Care Services Consortium for providing support and guidance around program sustainability. We would also like to thank Mr. Thanh Nguyen for his assistance with the background literature for this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asian Health Services, 818 Webster Street, Oakland, CA, 94607, USA

    Susan Huang MD, MS, Susana Fong LCSW, Thomas Duong & Thu Quach PhD, MPH

Authors
  1. Susan Huang MD, MS
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  2. Susana Fong LCSW
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  3. Thomas Duong
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  4. Thu Quach PhD, MPH
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thu Quach PhD, MPH.

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The Affordable Care Act and integrated behavioral health programs in community health centers to promote utilization of mental health services among Asian Americans

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Huang, S., Fong, S., Duong, T. et al. The Affordable Care Act and integrated behavioral health programs in community health centers to promote utilization of mental health services among Asian Americans. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 6, 309–315 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-016-0398-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-016-0398-4

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