dr. ronald e. mcnair acknowledgements - University of St. Thomas

Chia Lee
Public Health Health care Accessibility in Hmong Community
blended into the American culture such as the younger
generation compared to those who are still holding on to
many Hmong beliefs, such as shamanism and herbal
healing in the older generation. This gap has created
barriers within the community to incorporate both Hmong
and American culture. Along with cultural barriers,
language and health literacy, according to this research’s
literature review, are other factors in the limitations of
health care. Some suggested recommendations would be to
battle two particular barriers: cultural and language.
Programs targeted towards the Hmong to learn proper
health practices such as regular check-ups and screenings
while still respecting their cultural beliefs would be
beneficial. Along with these programs, health care
providers in largely populated Hmong areas should be
provided with background on Hmong culture to better
adapt medical procedures for Hmong individuals. Quality
Hmong translators accessible in hospitals and clinics would
be beneficial in properly providing the information for
Hmong patients. To continue looking at health care
accessibility in the Hmong would be valuable with some
future research in this field.
FUTURE RESEARCH
One particular research idea expanding from the idea of
the Hmong community and geographical access to health
care would be to restructure the research. A change in the
study area would remove rural areas and areas where the
Hmong community is not located such as only examining
Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Comparison of the
Hmong population would also be beneficial at studying
the community within itself, for instance, examining
economic status, gender, and age. This could result in
significance in the data and that the Hmong community’s
geographical access to health care is a Minneapolis-Saint
Paul area concern only. Some other future research ideas
would be to survey individuals in the community to
examine health disparities and barriers to accessibility as
well as incorporating health insurance coverage and other
factors contributing to health care access. Other
communities could also be researched to compare and
contrast with the Hmong community expanding the
awareness of health disparities.
APPENDIX
Map 1. Hmong Community Map
Map 2. Health Care Facilities Map
Map 3. Health Care Facilities Distances
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