PEARLS: Helping Older Asian Americans with Depression through Community-Based Organizations
On June 17, 2022, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) wrote an impactful article called “Creating Inclusive Depression Care for Older Asian Americans: What Community Organizations Can Do.”
The authors discuss the importance of a community-based style of program called “PEARLS”, which stands for “Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives.” They note that:
Older Asian American adults face many and different systemic barriers to accessing depression care.
Evidence-based programs such as the Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARLS) can be adapted by community-based organizations to offer culturally appropriate depression care.
Three community-based organizations serving Cambodian, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese American older adults share lessons learned in improve access to depression care.
Here are some key factors and statistics that the authors present:
Older Asian Americans have some of the lowest recorded rates of mental health issues compared to other racial groups, yet older Asian American women have one of the highest completion rates of suicide.2
Korean American older adults have a higher prevalence of depression, but a lower rate of mental health service use compared to all American older adults, and only 5.7% of Korean older adults with severe depression access mental health services.4
Cambodian Americans are seven times more likely5 to experience depression than other adults in the United States.
Approximately 30-50% Vietnamese refugees report experiencing depression.6
For some Filipino older adults, religion plays a role in how depression is discussed and viewed. These manifestations of the stigma of depression are rarely addressed in traditional depression care, and can be lost under the umbrella of “Asian American.”
Despite these challenges, communities have persevered. And community-based organizations have been central to providing older Cambodian, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese adults with depression support and education in their communities.
They give examples of how the adaptation of the aspects of PEARLS-related program are particularly beneficial to our senior Asian American community. Some of the key takeaways from this model can be applied to the positive changes that can be applied to all seniors for a more emotionally and balanced abundant living.
The creative problem solving guided by older adults in PEARLS allows them to brainstorm and explore solutions to the problems they want to tackle—in a way that fits their lifestyle.
The PEARLS program helps older adults with depression to create healthier and happier lives. I encourage you to explore what this program has to offer. Take a look at their website to obtain more information, and start your well-deserved journey to a more balanced, abundant life!
