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Multicultural History Research Paper Outline
Health Multiculture
Vietnamese Health Disparities Outline
I. Introduction:
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The Vietnamese culture group originates from Vietnam, a country located in Southeast
Asia.
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Vietnamese Americans are one of the largest Asian American ethnic groups in the United
States, with a population of over 2 million.
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Understanding health disparities experienced by different cultural groups is important
because it can help healthcare providers and policymakers develop more effective
interventions and policies to improve health outcomes for everyone.
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Health disparities refer to differences in health outcomes or access to healthcare
experienced by certain groups of people due to their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, or other factors.
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Some of the health disparities experienced by Vietnamese Americans include high rates
of hepatitis B, liver cancer, and mental health problems, as well as low rates of cancer
screening and other preventive healthcare services.
II. Selected Cultural Group:
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I was born and raised in Vietnam. I understand the Vietnamese cultural traditions and the
health disparities they are facing due to slow economic development.
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Vietnam is the trading center of many different cultures from Asia to Europe. At the same
time, Vietnam suffered many invasions or wars with China, France, Japan, Spain, and the
US.
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The Vietnamese culture has a rich history and has been shaped by various factors such as
Chinese and French colonialism, wars, and migration.
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Vietnamese culture values family and community, Confucianism and Buddhism are the
predominant religions, and there are distinct gender roles and customs related to food,
dress, and holidays (Collier et al. 362).
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The diverse Vietnamese American population includes refugees, immigrants, and their
descendants. They are concentrated in California, Texas, and other parts of the West
Coast.
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Vietnamese Americans face unique challenges related to assimilation, language barriers,
and discrimination.
III. Health Disparities Experienced by Vietnamese Culture Group in the U.S.:
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Vietnamese Americans experience disparities in hepatitis B, liver cancer, mental health,
and preventive healthcare services.
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One specific health disparity that will be focused on is hepatitis B, which affects a
disproportionately high number of Vietnamese Americans.
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Data shows that 7.4% of Vietnamese Americans are chronically infected with hepatitis B
compared to 0.3% of the general U.S. population (Adia et al. 524).
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Vietnamese Americans have higher rates of hepatitis B-related liver cancer and lower
rates of hepatitis B vaccination and testing than other Asian American groups.
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Historical factors such as the Vietnam War, refugee migration patterns, and cultural
factors such as stigma and lack of awareness contribute to these disparities.
IV. Data Analysis:
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The disparity in hepatitis B affects Vietnamese Americans compared to the general U.S.
population.
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This disparity significantly affects healthcare expenditures, morbidity/mortality rates, and
life expectancy outcomes.
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Factors affecting this disparity include vaccination and screening policies, access to
culturally appropriate care, and education.
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The Social Ecological Model can guide interventions addressing this disparity at multiple
levels, including individual, interpersonal, community, and policy.
V. Current and Past Initiatives:
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Several initiatives have addressed hepatitis B disparities in Vietnamese Americans,
including the Hep B Free campaign and community-based outreach programs.
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These initiatives use education, community outreach, and policy advocacy strategies to
increase awareness and access to screening and vaccination (Ahmmad et al. 585).
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The interventions address multiple levels of the Social Ecological Model and are
culturally competent, utilizing community-based partnerships and culturally appropriate
materials.
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Outcome data shows that these interventions have successfully increased screening and
vaccination rates among Vietnamese Americans.
VI. Critical Thinking:
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While these initiatives have successfully increased awareness and access to care, there is
still work to be done to address the underlying factors contributing to the disparities.
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Recommendations include increasing access to healthcare, improving provider cultural
competence, and addressing stigma and discrimination.
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The best action to address hepatitis B disparities in Vietnamese Americans would be to
use a multi-level approach that includes individual, interpersonal, community, and
policy-level interventions.
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The unique values, practices, and worldviews of Vietnamese culture can provide an entry
point for generating effective solutions.
VII. Conclusion:
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Vietnamese Americans experience disparities in health outcomes and access to care,
particularly concerning hepatitis B.
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Understanding and addressing these disparities is important for improving overall health
outcomes for all communities.
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Interventions that are culturally competent, multi-level, and address the underlying
factors contributing to disparities are most effective.
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Future research and interventions should prioritize the needs and experiences of
Vietnamese Americans and other cultural groups.
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Reference
Adia, Alexander C., et al. “Health conditions, outcomes, and service access among Filipino,
Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean adults in California, 2011–2017.” American
Journal of Public Health 110.4 (2020): 520-526.
Ahmmad, Zobayer, Ming Wen, and Kelin Li. “Self-rated health disparities among Asian
Americans: mediating roles of education level and household income.” Journal of
Immigrant and Minority Health 23 (2021): 583-590.
Collier, K. Megan, et al. “Explanatory variables for women’s increased risk for mental health
problems in Vietnam.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 55 (2020): 359369.
General Requirements:
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Be sure to begin with an introduction, and end with a conclusion.
The paper should be organized around the Social-Ecological Model and a
Public Health framework
The paper is to be written in APA format (7th Edition) with the following
requirements:
o 1” margins
o A properly formatted title page
o Page numbers
o Times Roman 12 pt. font with double spacing
o Proper use of level headings to guide yourself while writing and to
guide the reader through your work. At a minimum you must use
level I headings for the major portions.
o Research is a necessity for this assignment (outline Required). You
must use at least five (5) scholarly resources. If you are unclear as to
what is a scholarly source, please see your instructor.
You must use APA formatted in-text citations for information from external
sources, and an APA formatted reference page.
Content Requirement
The Individual Research Paper assignment asks you to identify a cultural group that you
identify with and explore a disparity that the group experiences using data to describe
and define the disparity, including comparisons to other groups (without that last piece it
wouldn’t be a disparity, just a health outcome).
This in-depth analysis of the health disparity in a specific cultural group should be 7-8
pages long (not including cover page, references, and attachments), and addresses the
following components
1. Choose a cultural group that you feel you have an active identity around or
involvement with and provide some background on the culture: Essentially
this is how you move through this world. This paper should be about your
people, including historical context of your ancestry….
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Describe your relationship to this culture.
Provide historical context for the culture, including its origins and key
developments that have helped shape the culture and the experience of its
members, including challenges to social justice and equity.
Membership demographics and characteristics – who makes up this culture,
such as nationality, race/ethnicity, spirituality/religion, and location.
2. Identify and describe a disparity experienced by this group specifically in the U.S. This
can be a health disparity which is a higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality
experienced by one group relative to another, a health care disparity which typically
refers to differences between groups in health insurance coverage, access to and use of
care, and quality of culturally appropriate care (KFF, 2018) or a disparity in the social
determinants of health such as, access to quality education or housing and how that
affects the group’s health.
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Describe how these differences impact health outcomes.
NOTE: Not all cultural groups experience health disparities in the U.S. If you
are apart of a cultural group that does not experience a significant burden of
illness, injury, disability and or mortality rates, compared to other culture
groups in the U.S., in this section, provide details, examples, along with
historical systemic context, as to why your cultural group experiences better
health outcomes (i.e., no specific health disparity). What current systems are
in place that this cultural group benefits from etc.
3. Present data that support the identification of this issue as a disparity in this
population.
The data and analysis should include:
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Who experiences the disparity, who is/are the comparison groups, and data
on the specific disparity?
The significance (or implications) of the disparity within your population for
example:
o Related health-care expenditures
o Comorbidity/mortality rates
o Stigma
o Life expectancy outcomes, etc.
Factors that affect the disparity such as
o Policies or the absence of policies
o Access to culturally appropriate care
o Location and the built environment
o Access to education
4. Identify a public health initiative that has been implemented for the disparity in the
identified cultural group: This will require you to do some research. There are many local,
state, and national programs implemented to address specific health disparities in
different communities.
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What was the initiative(s) about, including the region it was conducted,
priority population, and strategies and activities that are utilized in the
initiative?
Which level(s) of the Social-Ecological Model did the intervention activities
address? (A lecture about SEM will be posted for a better understanding)
What makes the initiative culturally competent?
How did the organization engage their identified population?
How successful were the initiatives in addressing the disparity and improving
health outcomes in your chosen population group?
Provide the outcome data that was used to determine how the intervention
impacted the disparity in the population.
5. Based on the data reported in the identified intervention, critically analyze the
outcome of the intervention.
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Discuss whether or not this intervention reduced the disparity in the
population
o Why or why not?
Specify suggestions or recommendations you have to supplement or improve
the initiative(s), and in developing future programs or public health initiatives
for this population group based on the concepts you have learned in this class,
and argue what you think the best course of action would be to address the
issue.
o How does your population’s shared values, practices, and
worldviews provide an entry point for generating effective
solutions?
o What level(s) of the Social-Ecological Model should be used to
address this disparity in the identified population?