Suicide Rate Higher Among NYC Asian Women

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NEW YORK—In response to the high suicide rate among elderly Asian women living in New York City, the State has given a grant to a local home care provider in Queens to step up suicide prevention efforts, announced the provider on Friday, Sept. 12 at a senior center in Flushing.

The national suicide rate for Asian American women seniors is 8.1 per 100,000, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Compared to the national rate, that of NYC is higher, at 11.6 per 100,000.

In Korea, suicide rates are very high and have seen a dramatic increase over the years,” “said Haein Son, President of the Korean American Behavioral Health Association. “I think it's the same thing in New York City.”

According to the World Health Organization's international statistics, South Korea, Japan, and rural China rank 8, 12, and 14 respectively in the world's highest suicide rates.

Studies have shown that Asians suffering from depression are less likely than other ethnicities to seek help, according to Stanley Sue, PhD, director of the National Research Center on Asian American Mental Health in University of California, Davis. In many Asian cultures, stigma is attached to conditions like depression, which is seen as a family's internal business.

The NYS Office of Mental Health awarded seven grants in April totaling over $900,000 to conduct two public awareness and education campaigns targeting Latina adolescents and elderly Asian women. The Campaigns aim to unite patients with mental health services according to their cultural and linguistic values, according to the grant web site.

Institutions receiving parts of the grant include Hamilton-Madison House, Stony Brook University, the Asian American Federation and Visiting Nurses Regional (VNR) Health Care Services, serving Queens.

Beginning this month until February, VNR will hold a series of public workshops to discuss issues surrounding depression and suicide among members of the Asian community. Their first workshop, on Sept. 18, will take place at the Queens Library in Flushing.