By Nina Huang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Dr. Anthony L. Bui
Dr. Anthony Lam Bui became passionate about helping Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth address mental health challenges after his own lived experiences as an immigrant kid as well as witnessing how the COVID-19 pandemic made an impact on the community.
His latest research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics takes a look at the alarming increase in suicide, which is the leading cause of death among AAPI youths. Examining the rise of suicide rates spanning 22 years, Bui found a 72% increase in males and a 125% increase in females. As September is Suicide Prevention Month, his findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions and support for vulnerable AAPI youth.
Bui has been an investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Acting Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine since 2019.
Bui grew up in Orange County, California which is the largest Vietnamese diaspora. He is the son of Vietnamese refugees and was a first generation University of California – Berkeley student. He worked in economic development and public health for five years before going to medical school at University of California – Los Angeles.
Bui described himself as very social justice-oriented and worked in economic development to understand systems of care, but he realized he wanted to be involved in not only breaking down barriers to systems, but also helping individuals navigate those barriers through one-on-one relationships.
“As a pediatrician, I have the privilege to help kids with those barriers,” he said.
Bui trained to be a pediatrician during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic which is around the same time the youth mental health crisis intensified significantly.
He said that youth suicide rates climbed for reasons like not being in school, not having protective factors such as community resources, or feeling connected to friends and family.
“Stigma is a huge part of it for immigrant families especially for Asian American families. So many families like my own are intergenerational. My parents came over in the 1970-80s from Vietnam and I have a different outlook compared to their outlook. Mental health looks different to them,” he explained.
Bui said that research shows that AAPI are the racial group that least likely access mental health care due to barriers such as limited culturally and linguistically relevant programs and providers. Insurance and economics also play a big role in preventing community members from accessing the care they need.
“We need more culturally tailored solutions, that’s a big priority of what needs to happen moving forward,” he added.
Vietnamese have disproportionate rates among other ethnic groups in terms of suicide. One study shows that Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian groups have challenges obtaining resources.
Bui shared that it could be due to trauma through migration and the Vietnam War. There are implications that could impact the statistic, but there needs to be more research to understand why these groups have these rising mental health risks.
“When you disaggregate the rates, there are large disparities across groups that deserve attention, more resources and intervention that are really helping these groups. It goes to show that lumping ethnic groups into one large group really hides the important info and data that’s uncovering stories,” Bui said.
Mental illness can refer to depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder. A lot of what’s happening with current events with rising rates of anti-Asian hate and xenophobia, a lot of these factors can contribute to mental illness in comparison to before the pandemic.
Bui’s advice to parents is to have open conversations and be open minded when talking to their kids about mental health, stress, and how things are going at school. Having that conversation helps them feel supported and heard and can play an important role in someone’s mental health.
“Having an open window of communication about who they’re talking to online, who they’re communicating with is really important so if any bullying is happening, you’re aware of it and can create a plan to address it,” he said.
Bui advised that reducing screen time in general is helpful. While there are some positive effects of social media, there are negative effects especially used in excess.
“Being able to minimize social media is important as we think about how to optimize mental health,” he said.
Schools across the state and nation are updating their policies to restrict cell phone use during the school day to support student learning and mental health.
Last month, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) published a brief for Washington’s schools on cell phone policies, advocating for school leaders to plan to update their policies by the start of the 2025–26 school year.
“Reducing the use of cell phones in class improves concentration and learning, improves mental and physical health, and reduces pressures caused by social media,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal in the guidance document.
Bui’s long term research goals to better understand how to work with specific AAPI community groups to best prioritize their needs using a community-focused approach.
His recent study helped him understand what the priorities and needs are across AAPI groups. Given that suicidality is a big issue in the Vietnamese community, what he wants to do next is understanding how to improve access to care for that group in the long-term, and to be able to address the youth mental health disparity among AAPI groups.
Death by suicide rates are going up in AAPI youth. Bui said that suffocation is the leading cause of deaths by suicide. He added that suicide by firearm is growing.
He shared that with the amount of anti-Asian hate and discrimination taking place, some families might feel safer with a gun in the household, but introducing a gun into the household increases the risk of suicide in the family.
“What I worry about now with greater access to firearms in the Asian community that’s also contributing to greater lethal means for suicide,” he said.
Bui shared that it’s really hard to predict who at a very young age is going to attempt to die by suicide. But if one is starting to notice differences in moods or behaviors, it’s always worth having a conversation to see what’s going on.
“That’s the biggest thing here is opening the door to conversations and making sure that friends and families are open minded to conversations and bringing in professionals when you need to,” Bui said.
“My hope is that over time, many people working on this, myself included, will get to a point to address stigma and other barriers to mental health care to address this growing problem,” he said.
Nina can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.