Anise Health: Digital Mental Health for Asian Americans

The 22 million Asian Americans in the United States are up to five times more likely to drop out of mental health treatments prematurely and 50% more likely to report such treatment being ineffective compared to the general population. As a result, suicide is the leading cause of death for young adults in this population. Since 2020, Asian Americans have experienced an eight-fold increase in the prevalence of depression and anxiety, with 41% reporting current symptoms. However, 62% of Asian Americans with a current mental health diagnosis do not have access to effective services, largely due to a lack of evidence-based methods for addressing key sociocultural factors in therapy. Despite the association of unique and challenging sociocultural factors with poor mental health outcomes for Asian Americans, current evidence-based practices are often unable to effectively address the impact of such stressors. While efforts have been made to adapt standard practices for certain populations experiencing health disparities, none to date have been developed to address these key factors in therapy for Asian Americans. Anise Health is a pioneer in the technology-enabled delivery of mental health care for Asian Americans. Preliminary data have demonstrated Anise’s ability to drive high patient engagement and retention, resulting in statistically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in just eight weeks. We propose to challenge and innovate the current clinical practice paradigms by creating accessible and culturally-informed digital tools. Aims: 1: Adapt and further develop evidence-based, culturally-informed digital mental health clinical tools that address key sociocultural factors influencing mental health outcomes for the Asian American community. 2: Assess clinician receptiveness and use of Anise’s online platform tools for addressing key sociocultural factors with their Asian American clients and revise accordingly. 3: Evaluate the initial efficacy of the online platform tools for improving outcomes related to these sociocultural factors with 64 Asian American clients. A successful outcome of this proposal will be a set of digital materials that effectively address key sociocultural stressors for Asian Americans on Anise’s digital health platform. This work will prepare the platform for a larger clinical trial and wider commercialization with partner institutions, which would be the subject of a future phase II submission.