Boat People S S Meeting urgent needs today, empowering communities for tomorrow Health disparities among Vietnamese-American women Presentation by: Quynh Nguyen National Program Manager Health Awareness and Prevention Program

Objective This project will target a particularly vulnerable subgroup of Asian Americans: Vietnamese across the country and Cambodians and Laotians in the Gulf Coast. This priority population, mostly post-Vietnam War refugees, has little access to health care information and services due to multiple barriers: literacy, language, cultural beliefs and stigma, lack of health insurance, and unfamiliarity with the US health care system.

Boat People SOS, a brief summary Boat People SOS, a brief summary  Our mission statement  Our programs  Our goals and objectives  Our communities

Target Population  A new community: Formed 31 years ago  The 4 waves: 10% in 1975: 130,000 evacuees 30% from 1976 to 1985: 300,000 first-wave boat people 30% from 1985 to 1995: 300,000 second-wave boat people 20% from 1990 – present: Orderly Departure Program - 180,000 HO refugees (trauma survivors and family members) - 80,000 Amerasians and family members - 20,000 repatriated boat people

Vietnamese Women

The unequal burden of cancer among Asian Americans  While heart disease is the leading cause of death for all US groups (all ages), cancer has been the number one killer of Asian-American women since  Cervical cancer has the highest incidence rate in Vietnamese women and is five times higher than the rate among Caucasian women. With prevalence at 37.5 per 100,000, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death.  Breast cancer has the second highest incidence rate in Vietnamese women.

Barriers preventing screening  (1) Cultural beliefs: As with many other ethnic populations, Vietnamese refugees and immigrants have cultural values and beliefs that can have negative connotations regarding cancer;  (2) Communications: Limited English proficiency remains an obstacle for Vietnamese to access the health services;  (3) Lack of insurance or underinsured: Other reasons for this low utilization of preventative services include lack of insurance and low comprehension of insurance benefits.

What is preventing Vietnamese women from seeking early screening and preventative services?  They put their family’s welfare before their own  Cultural beliefs  Religion  Family’s influences and beliefs  Limited English proficiency  Transportation  Low level of education/literacy  Misconceptions  Fearful of the American health system

They put work and their family’s welfare before their own WORK: 6-7 days a week 9-10 hours a day Household duties - Cooking - Cleaning - Laundries Tending to the: Children Husband Tending to the: Parents In-Laws Relatives

Fearful of the American Health System  No Insurance  Limited English proficiency  Transportation  Personal gains Too busyToo busy Missing workMissing work Line is too long/a hassleLine is too long/a hassle No documentationsNo documentations Uncertainty of approvalUncertainty of approval

A History of Misconceptions Cultural Beliefs  Superstitious  Taboo  Karma  God’s will Family’s Influence  Religion  Family’s reputation  Spouse/male dominated  Health history Dependency  Low level of education/literacy education/literacy  Dependant on man of the house to read/write the house to read/write  Limited English proficiency proficiency  Take heresy for facts  Transportation

Know who they are  Family oriented  Very busy  Very easily influenced by their co-workers  Won’t go to the doctor unless there are visible signs of illnesses  Believes that prayers will cure them of all illnesses

Our goals  Prevention through education  Early detection through screenings  Navigate access to low-costs health care  Create a network of support groups through peer and family

Raising Awareness through outreach  Media Mach Song Mach Song Radio interviews Radio interviews VATV VATV  Community events  One-on-one education  Workshops  Health fairs

Prevention through education  Regular workshops to remind them the importance of early screening  Provide one-on-one education with bilingual information  Use the train-the-trainer method  Invite guest speakers who are an expertise or professional in the area of interest

Early detection through screening  Inform the community at large through mass media (Mach Song, VATV, etc.)  Collaborate with local clinics and health care facilities to provide low-cost screenings  Use survivor stories as examples of early detection

Contacts  Headquarter: 6066 Leesburg Pike, Ste Leesburg Pike, Ste 100 Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church, Virginia Phone: (703) Phone: (703)  Website:   Houston, TX -  Springfield, MA –  New Orleans, LA –  Falls Church, VA -  Camden, NJ –  Atlanta, GA –

Boat People S S Meeting urgent needs today, empowering communities for tomorrow