TY - JOUR
T1 - Hmong Mental Health Needs Assessment
T2 - A Community-Based Partnership in a Small Mid-Western Community
AU - Collier, Ann Futterman
AU - Munger, Martha
AU - Moua, Yong Kay
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Lydia Moua and Hua Xiong-Her for all of their assistance with the focus groups; and Jay Collier, M.D., for his assistance in facilitating the men’s focus group. This work was funded in part from a grant through the Eau Claire Community Foundation, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - The overall goal of this assessment was to verify the mental health needs of Hmong living in a mid-west community in order clarify the format, content, and feasibility of providing mental health services for Hmong in the future. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model, we held four focus groups with 36 men, women, adolescents and professionals, all of Hmong descent, as well as interviewed 28 individual medical, mental health, education, and social service providers in the Eau Claire community. Our Hmong sample was frequently unclear about what "mental" health meant, indicating a low level of mental health literacy. Results confirmed that there are significant mental health needs in this refugee and immigrant population. Participants described problems consistent with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, and severe social stress and acculturation difficulties in every generation. Elder people and male adolescents were described as the most disaffected and in need of immediate services. It will be critical to address mental health literacy before designing future interventions. Treatment suggestions were provided with the intention of removing barriers and incorporating culturally sensitive methodologies, while continuing to work closely with our local mental health providers and Hmong leadership.
AB - The overall goal of this assessment was to verify the mental health needs of Hmong living in a mid-west community in order clarify the format, content, and feasibility of providing mental health services for Hmong in the future. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model, we held four focus groups with 36 men, women, adolescents and professionals, all of Hmong descent, as well as interviewed 28 individual medical, mental health, education, and social service providers in the Eau Claire community. Our Hmong sample was frequently unclear about what "mental" health meant, indicating a low level of mental health literacy. Results confirmed that there are significant mental health needs in this refugee and immigrant population. Participants described problems consistent with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, and severe social stress and acculturation difficulties in every generation. Elder people and male adolescents were described as the most disaffected and in need of immediate services. It will be critical to address mental health literacy before designing future interventions. Treatment suggestions were provided with the intention of removing barriers and incorporating culturally sensitive methodologies, while continuing to work closely with our local mental health providers and Hmong leadership.
KW - Community-based participatory research
KW - Hmong
KW - Immigrants
KW - Mental health
KW - Mental health literacy
KW - Under-served populations
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U2 - 10.1007/s10464-011-9436-z
DO - 10.1007/s10464-011-9436-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 21519936
AN - SCOPUS:84856639688
SN - 0091-0562
VL - 49
SP - 73
EP - 86
JO - American Journal of Community Psychology
JF - American Journal of Community Psychology
IS - 1-2
ER -