**7. Conclusions**

This conceptual paper, which is not a systematic review, presents an overview of the current state of the literature in Asian American disability and mental health studies. By conducting a structured literature search rather than a systemic analysis, conclusions made from this synthesis results are more qualitative in nature and broader in scope. The search process was intentionally wide-ranging, in order to uncover all sorts of methodological inadequacies in research studies pertaining to disability among Asian population groups in the US or English-speaking countries. Critical analyses of the included papers' database resources and analytical results, including an evaluation of robust participant recruitment processes and an assessment of the statistical significance of the study findings, were not performed. Despite this limited approach, the literature review strategy revealed common limitations. Foremost among these was not accounting for Asian subgroup diversity, taxonomical inconsistencies, and population sampling issues. The result is an absence of specific policy and practice-relevant information on Asian Americans with a disability.

This examination of the issues and implications of ignoring the diversity of the Asian American population in disability research underscores the absence of culturally sensitive research and the impediments and barriers to effective methodologies for studying Asian Americans with disabilities or other racial-ethnic groups. While sparse, the review revealed a significant and consistent gap between mainstream disability services and the needs of Asian Americans with disabilities. To better understand this gap, and other needs still unknown, we argue that disability researchers must strive to incorporate more refined taxonomies of Asian subgroups. As researchers evaluate impediments to their studies on these groups, the alternative methodologies presented herein can help them better address heterogeneity in ways that are responsive, inclusive, and productive.

Finally, researchers must employ culturally appropriate measures by using sampling processes that adequately capture diversity of Asian American populations and by honoring worldviews and cultural histories of these populations. Researchers must also explore ways to include families and communities in studies of Asian American individuals with disabilities, specifically by building sustainable, community-based partnerships that allow stakeholders to contribute to the successive phases of research, development, and implementation [72]. These approaches, when implemented, are likely to add to the literature as well as to positively affect policy and funding for this overlooked, understudied demographic.

#### **8. Limitations and Future Steps**

The following future steps are based on limitations in the current literature. First, researchers should be careful not to generalize about disability issues across and within Asian groups; at a minimum, they should openly acknowledge the limitations of the general label. Second, whenever possible, research should disaggregate Asian data by ethnic group. Third, we recommend that researchers employ alternative sampling methodologies designed for "rare" populations. Fourth, researchers

should focus on specific subethnic groups if sampling resources are limited. Fifth, researchers should collect data on immigration and refugee status whenever appropriate and possible.

Finally, researchers should adopt multi-faceted approaches in local community capacity-building studies. Although all types of research approaches may be necessary for developing an accurate portrait of Asian Americans with disabilities, CBPR is uniquely positioned to overcome many of the impediments to research with this population. The economics of big research sugges<sup>t</sup> that major national initiatives focused on better understanding variations within the larger Asian community are unlikely and that if funded they would not be sustainable. Most inquiries, therefore, will likely involve local studies or evaluations. CBPR fits well with a culturally tailored integrative approach through its use of partnerships, procedural focus on gatekeepers, and emphasis on co-learning relationships and sustainability.

There are no simple solutions to the lack of comprehensive data, and we sugges<sup>t</sup> that the near-term need is for researchers to abandon the "Asian" subgroup in favor of more nuanced understandings of smaller groups. This will require in turn, the nuanced use of data drawn from complementary but not necessarily equivalent data portraits using di fferent samples, methodologies, and disciplinary lenses. While imperfect it is the important first step in understanding the diversity of what is currently considered "Asian" in the context of disability.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/10/3/58/s1, Supplementary Material 1: Asian Disability Methodology Included Asians Articles, and Supplementary Material 2: Minority Research Publications without Asians.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, R.H., G.T.F. and J.E.C.; methodology, R.H. and G.T.F.; validation, J.E.C., T.T.T.B. and S.K.; formal analysis, R.H., G.T.F., J.E.C. and T.T.T.B.; investigation, R.H. and G.T.F., resources, J.E.C., T.T.T.B. and S.K.; data curation, R.H., J.E.C., T.T.T.B. and S.K.; writing—original draft preparation R.H., G.T.F. and J.E.C.; writing—review and editing, R.H., G.T.F. and J.E.C.; visualization, T.T.T.B.; supervision, R.H.; project administration, R.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors like to acknowledge the important work that has been conducted and/or supported by fellow researchers and allies on aspects of this topic.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
