Tag Archives: radio

AMA: REACH Vietnamese

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AsianMediaAccess

Here is a recap from one of the radio talk show done by Asian Media Access. This time around it is focused on the Vietnamese community with issues that arises in health care, culture, and community. It is great way to get direct insights on how these problems can be discussed, addressed, and shared with others.

Asian Media Access: Radio Talk Show

February 14, 2012 9:30am

14443 Armstrong Boulevard Northeast

Ramsey, MN 55303

Radio Talk Show Summary

Guests: Kieu Anh (KA), Anh Ha (AH), Amy Yen (AY), Thiep Nguyen (TN), Nancy Le (NL), Thinh Nguyen (THN)

Host: Phuoc Tran (PT), librarian at Hennnepin County Library

PT: Welcoming guests. Introduced self and the topic of discussion: A look at health disparities in the Vietnamese community in Minnesota as part of the Health Disparities project of Asian Media Access

KA: Introduced self- happy to be part of the project

AH: Introduced self- had been in Minnesota more than 4 years, happy to share her experiences on health care issues

AY: Introduced self-very happy to join the group in discussing health disparities and services of the Vietnamese community in the Twin Cities

TH: Introduced self-had been in Minneapolis, Minnesota more than 30 year, retired

NL: Introduced self- had been in Minnesota for a long time and so happy to discuss about health disparities in the Vietnamese community

THN: Introduced self-happy to be part of the discussion

PT: A recent survey of 103 Vietnamese people over 40 years showed that only 70% had an annual check-up. Why?

  • NL: No health insurance coverage; language barrier (Many immigrants and seniors have low educational level in addition to the language barrier they face when trying to communicate with doctors and health care providers); habit of avoiding doctors in fear of finding out that they might have a serious illness
  • KA: Co-Payments and health insurance premiums are high and expensive; no health insurance coverage from employer; language barrier; the lack of transportation hinders Vietnamese seniors from accessing their health care provider even if they have health care coverage
  • AY: Main reasons for not having annual check-up: having health insurance coverage, but people were busy and ignored it; lack of health coverage; tend to view health care as necessary only when they’re sick.
  • NL: Raise questions about patients were kept in the waiting room for too long before they see the doctor/ urgent care
  • PT: Co-Payments and health insurance premiums are high and expensive.
  • TN: – paid $500 for health insurance after his retirement and it was too much with today’s economy and decided not to buy it if having a good health.

– Medicine prices were often high and not affordable in America, so it was           common to see people buy medicine in Vietnam at a much lower price

– Language barrier: Many immigrants and seniors have low educational level in addition to the language barrier they face when trying to communicate with doctors and health care providers

PT: Questions on health disparities in the Vietnamese Community in Minnesota?

  • NL: Feel unreasonable to pay high cost of health insurance while they may not be utilizing it. Why they need to pay more co-payment in addition to high premium cost; rather pay for daily expenses to their children than pay high cost insurance. Co-Payments and health insurance premiums were high and expensive; the cumbersome paperwork required to take part in government insurance programs has also contributed to the lack of health care coverage for many Vietnamese people.
  • AH: Not happy to pay high cost health insurance, but get limited services and high co-payment. Rather not having health insurance and buy medicine over the counter and have free mammogram services. Co-Payments and health insurance premiums are high and expensive. Couldn’t afford to buy health insurance
  • NL: Sorry for jumping to the discussion:

Medicare health insurance VS employee health insurance: limited services and doctor’s appointment in Government health insurance.

  • PT: Time for advertisement. We’ll come back to our next question.

2 minutes Break Time

  • PT:   Welcome back and discuss on co-payments and affordability on health insurance.
  • TN: Suggestions on health disparities: Vietnamese non-profit organization/ program, like First Call-United Way for free, updated information and referral program; free clinic or low cost clinic for new comers and low income families.
  • PT: Share info on Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, a free clinic operated by University of Minnesota health professional students. All students are supervised by licensed clinicians. No Appointments or Insurance Necessary. Spanish Interpreters are available at all times. No Appointments or Insurance Necessary; Give a Kid’s Smile (free dental exam for k-12);
  • KA: No one knew about these free clinic/services. Lack of resources /information in the Vietnamese community
  • PT: Great idea to have more resources published /advertised to the community via media outlets
  • AH: Why there was no interpreters in these free clinics while there was a interpretation phone line /interpreters in regular doctor office/clinic?
  • TH: Lack of sharing resources, no knowledge of such free clinic/services
  • AY: No knowledge of medical procedures/practices: thought they can see any doctor they wish or visit any hospital they choose; not happy to ask for a referral to see a specialist
  • NL: Not counting a lot of waiting time in the doctor’s office/ emergency room. Most people didn’t see the importance of preventive health services. They were unaware of what their health status was due to a habit of avoiding doctors in fear of finding out that they might have a serious illness
  • PT: Too much paperwork, no knowledge of medical procedures/practices shine people away from the doctor’s office
  • TN: It depended on health care policy some didn’t require a referral to see a specialist

2 minutes Break

  • PT: Welcome back. A need of resources and free clinic, free medicine and how to do it in the Vietnamese Community.
  • THN: We should have different media sources, local magazines, newspapers for seminating health information and resources
  • KA: In addition, information should be shared and brought to social and community gatherings every week
  • PT: Great idea to come to the weekly elderly gathering to share these resources
  • TN: A need of tailoring programs that fit both the audience’s need and the community’s resources.
  • NL : Development of health education, such as flyers, brochures and media materials in Vietnamese
  • AH: A need of developing a health issues website to cover all counties so everyone, including patients, new comers, health care providers, can use it as first resource.
  • PT: Significant use of traditional health practices VS Western Medicine. Why?
  • KA: Tendency to use herbal and traditional medicine among the elders. Use it as alternative or complementary medicine. Herbal treatments are the most popular form of traditional medicine and safe or carry no risk for harm. They are easy to buy and affordable, 10 times cheaper than medicine.
  • TN: Ensure the use of safe, effective and quality products and practices and watch for side effects
  • PT: Language barrier, no knowledge of medical terminology, cultural differences between patients and doctors are among the health disparities in the Vietnamese community
  • AY: Most of the clinics and hospitals have interpretation services while one might not find this service in a private doctor’s office.
  • THN: There were some complaints on interpretation services that weren’t good enough, lack of efficiency/ accuracy. All educational interpreters should have training, certification, and basic qualifications as required by the regulations of the state and by the interpreting industry

Solutions suggested by participants

  1. Free clinic low cost coverage
  2. Community physician who worked for a non-profit clinic that served low income, uninsured and underserved families
  3. Increase interpretation services
  4. Development of health education, such as flyers, brochures and media material in Vietnamese
  5. Reaching out to seniors through various venues, including weekly meetings, community gatherings/events, ethnic media (radio ,T.V, newspaper)
  6. Create a newsletter or website in Vietnamese that list updated resource/ news on health issues
  7. Getting the word out locally “word of mouth”
  8. Recruit community volunteers from within the Vietnamese community to be day doctors or health providers

PT: Thanks to everyone for their participation.

Hmong Americans

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According to the 2010 U.S. Census the eighth largest Asian American populations in Minnesota are the Hmong, Asian Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Laotian, and Cambodian communities. Specifically, 27 percent of the total population identify themselves as Hmong, 15.5 percent are Asian Indian, 11.7 percent are Chinese, 11.1 percent are Vietnamese, 4.9 percent are Laotians, and 3.9 percent are Cambodians (Figure 2).

ethnic races pie

Minnesota is home to over 40 different Asian Pacific Minnesotan immigrant and refugee communities.  Each community has its own strengths and challenges that may be unique to that ethnic community.  The following is an overview of how the Hmong American community is faring in Minnesota.

Hmong American Community Overview

The Hmong American community is the largest AAPI ethnic community in Minnesota and is second to California which has the largest Hmong American population in the U.S.1 APA ComMNet was able to survey a larger number of respondents from the Hmong American community – almost three times more than any other ethnic AAPI groups compared to other AAPI groups. .  APA ComMNet REACH CORE project staff and volunteers met with Hmong American community members and leaders throughout the Twin Cities to understand the community’s strengths, challenges and other social and environmental factors affecting its overall health and wellbeing.

Hmong American Community Strengths

In general, the Hmong American community perceived its quality of life in the Twin Cities as fair or improving.  Hmong Americans stated that they are healthier living here in the U.S. compared to their relatives in Thailand, Laos and other areas of Southeast Asia.  Several Hmong community members indicated that ample activities and opportunities exist for youth to be physically fit, reach their academic goals, and live to their fullest potential.  Numerous participants also expressed that Hmong American youth of today hold more degrees in higher education and are expected to live longer compared to their parents’ generation. Furthermore, the Hmong American community pointed to an increasing number of political leaders, male and female, who assist in creating policies and programs that are aimed at improving the overall well-being of the community. Others also mentioned the large number of businesses and institutions created to serve members of the Hmong community.  Such factors have created a positive perception of the how the Hmong community is faring in the eyes of its members. Many Hmong Americans state that their most important community assets include their strong family foundation, clan network and their value of having a good education.

A 2010 report found that the household size of a typical Minnesotan Hmong family is 5.4 members, the largest household size among all AAPI ethnic groups.2   Hmong community members interviewed for this project said that having a large family is an asset because they rely on their family for support and assistance.  Chingla Thao, the Dean of Students at New Millennium Academy – a Hmong charter school in Minneapolis said he comes from a “community-dependent” community that values interdependence between members.  Thao added that this interdependence and the value of having a large family might be traced from the Hmong’s agrarian culture.  According to Thao, more family members provide financial security:

“The Hmong often want bigger families in an event of a crisis, so the burden is shared by more people.  Having bigger families builds community and it helps us be independent in a way that we don’t have to seek for outside help.  We can get that help and support internally, from each other.”

hmong pplEducation also is a priority for many Hmong community members who participated in this project. In recent years, more charter schools have opened its doors in the Twin Cities with a focus in providing culturally appropriate education to students of Hmong descent. When asked about the value of education, Thao stated that the Hmong community recognized early on that education was the “key and the way out of poverty.” He mentioned that a phrase young Hmong American children consistently hear from their parents is “Rau siab kawm ntawv” or “work hard in school.”

Hmong American Community

Some of the barriers to better health and wellbeing for the Hmong community are high rates of unemployment and poverty, limited English ability and unaffordable medical costs.  Over 12 percent of the Hmong community reported that they were uninsured.1   Hmong community members who participated in the project indicated that uninsured members at times seek medical care from Shamans to alleviate their physical and mental health issues (See side bar).  Hmong American families also use herbal remedies and may conduct healing ceremonies in the hospital and in the home. In addition, community members indicated that surgery and organ donation may not be acceptable as treatment for medical ailments and some members of the Hmong community believe that certain Western medicines may poison them, rather than help them.

While Hmong community members value physical activity, especially low-impact exercises such as gardening and walking, many Hmong community members identified the traditional diets as a health issue that needed to be addressed in the community.  Hmong Americans have among the highest obesity rates in comparison to other AAPI ethnic groups (Figure 3). White rice and fatty meats are considered a staple for many Hmong families while vegetables are often cooked with the meats and not eaten raw.  “Hmong people, in general, don’t know what food is nutritional and what is good for the body, but through word of mouth, more people are learning about it,” said a Hmong community member during his key informant interview.

1 Council of Asian-Pacific Minnesotans (CAPMN).  2012.  The State of Asian Pacific Minnesotans: 2010 Census and 2008-2010 American Community Survey Report.  St. Paul, MN.

2 Pierce PhD, Alexandra.  2010.  Health Disparities in Southeast Asian and African Refugee Communities.  Produced for the CAPI – Center for Asian and Pacific Islanders.  Minneapolis, MN.

REACH CORE Radio Talk Show:radio hmong

Hmong Community

Guest P. Vang: Yes. A few have medical insurance. However, there are others who do not have medical insurance due to unemployment or is not eligible to apply for medical insurance through the state.

Host Yang: Without getting access to medical coverage, is there anything else to help you with your health, or are you still looking for resources to help you with this area?

Guest P. Vang: Yes, we do need help. There are those who are in severe pain and in critical conditions who don’t get access to healthcare and don’t get treated due to the lack of medical coverage. Therefore, the only alternative our Hmong communities fall back on is to perform cultural practices; such as performing spiritual activities from a Shaman. Plus, if evil spirits is the cause of the person’s sickness, then “spirit calling/healing” from a Shaman would work. However, if the cause of the sickness is due to diseases, then it is necessary to seek a physician and be hospitalized.