JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are the fast-growing racial population in the United States (U.S); however, this population is underrepresented and understudied. The global (COVID-19) pandemic disproportionately affected AAPI and revealed significant health disparities and reports of increased discrimination/xenophobia. We hypothesized that social support and technology use were critical components of maintaining mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective:

We examined social support and technology use and their relations to mental and physical health outcomes through the COVID-19 pandemic among AAPIs.

Methods:

Data were drawn from the COVID-19 Effects on the Mental and Physical Health of AAPI Survey Study (COMPASS) for the time period of October 2020 to February 2021. COMPASS was a cross-sectional, multi-lingual national survey conducted online, phone, and in-person to AAPI adults in collaboration with academic and community partners in the U.S. Data were analyzed using multivariable linear regression.

Results:

Among 4,631 AAPIs (mean age 45.9 years, standard deviation 16.3 years; 63% female), we found that: 1) increased social support was associated with worse physical health; 2) total social support was positively associated with poorer mental health; 3) higher technology use was associated with poorer mental health, and inversely associated with poorer physical health; 4) effect of technology use on mental health was worse among those with low social support (vs. those with high social support); 5) adults under 60 years old (vs. 60 years old or older) were more negatively affected with social support and mental health; and, 6) Korean Americans appeared to be a high risk group for both poor mental health and physical health with increased technology use.

Conclusions:

We found that social support received during the pandemic was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety as well as better perceived physical health. Increased technology use (by 3 or more hours) during the pandemic was associated with poorer mental and physical health in Asian Americans. These findings revealed new health disparities observed during the pandemic. Future research on how social support can be leveraged especially among AAPIs younger than 60, and how various types of technology are being utilized are important to guide the recovery efforts to address both mental and physical disparities across communities as a result of the negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.