Mental Health and Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 on California’s Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating toll on the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) community. In 13 of the 19 states that disaggregated NHPI data, including California, NHPIs had the highest COVID-19 cases and death rates of any racial and ethnic group. However, in many data sources, NHPIs are absorbed into other racial and ethnic groups, such as Asian, masking COVID’s true impact on the NHPI community.

Working alongside NHPI community leaders and partners, researchers conducted the California Pacific Islander Well-Being and COVID-19 Economic Survey (CAPIWAVES) of 929 NHPI adults and developed a report examining the mental health and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NHPIs in California.

In addition to the total NHPI population, the report provides disaggregated estimates for seven NHPI groups in the survey: CHamoru, Fijian, Marshallese, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, and other Pacific Islander. These disaggregated estimates may be relevant to specific populations but should be interpreted with caution when the sample size is smaller or when the population characteristic is not very common.

Selected mental health findings:

• More than 1 in 4 NHPI adults (28.2%) reported experiencing “fair” or “poor” mental health.
• Although poor mental health was common, relatively few NHPI Californians sought and were able to access mental health care. For instance, 26.8% of NHPI adults reported seeking mental health care in their lifetime, indicating that nearly three-quarters had never sought professional help for emotional or mental health problems.
• About 1 in 3 NHPI adults (33.9%) reported needing mental health care in the past year for help with stress, depression, or emotions.
• The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with worsening mental health problems among NHPIs in California, with 47.5% reporting moderate and 9.2% reporting high levels of distress. The major sources of stress included health-related concerns (43.9%), financial concerns (38.8%), and pandemic impact on family members (37.6%), their work (32.4%), and their elders (31.1%).

Selected socioeconomic findings:

• About 1 in 3 NHPI adults (34%) reported a decrease in household income since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 46.3% of Fijian, 42.9% of Marshallese, 41.4% of Tongan, and 35.6% of Native Hawaiian adults reporting loss of income.
• Nearly 1 in 3 NHPI adults (29.7%) reported having someone in their household lose their job or a significant amount of income due to the pandemic.
• More than 1 in 4 NHPI adults (27.4%) had difficulty meeting basic financial necessities during the COVID-19 pandemic, including paying bills, paying tuition, affording groceries, or paying their rent or mortgage. More than 1 in 9 (11.4%) had difficulty obtaining child care.
• Although NHPI adults in California experienced severe economic impacts due to the pandemic, fewer than expected NHPI adults were able to access financial assistance, even when they were eligible. For example, 1 in 5 NHPI adults (19.0%) received government health benefits including Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) or Medicare. Of those who were eligible based on reported household income, less than one-third (31.2%) received government health benefits.