Characteristics of Chinese Service Users in an Old Age Psychiatry Service in New Zealand

Abstract

Objective: There is a paucity of research on the mental health issues of older Chinese people in New Zealand. This study aimed to describe the profiles of Chinese service users in a community-based old age psychiatry service.

Method: There were 22 older Chinese service users at the time of this cross-sectional analysis. Information on their demographics, referral pattern, diagnosis and treatment was obtained from their medical records and compared with a sample of 22 non-Chinese service users.

Results: The referral rates for Chinese and non-Chinese were 0.8% and 1.2% respectively. There did not appear to be any differences in the gender ratio, mean age, referral sources, diagnosis and medication use in the Chinese and non-Chinese groups. The largest observed differences were the higher rates of physical aggression at referral, use of Mental Health Act and inpatient treatment in the Chinese group. These observations suggest there might have been a delay in seeking care until psychiatric symptoms became unmanageable.

Conclusions: There is a need for further research to improve primary care, mental health service access and responsiveness for older Chinese and other Asian minority groups.