This website is designed as learning tool to help health care and human services providers better serve Vietnamese families with young children. Our focus is family mental health and healthy nutritional practices. From interviews and focus groups with members of the Vietnamese community and professionals who serve them, we have found that these are areas where the care provided often is impeded by a lack of cultural awareness. The website includes a variety of written and multimedia materials to encourage an understanding and appreciation of Vietnamese culture. They are presented on the website in interactive form and many are available for download. With this information, we hope professionals can develop collaborative and culturally sensitive strategies that improve communication with and services provided to Vietnamese families with young children.
The website is organized around three themes.
- Nutrition – Supporting Healthy Feeding Practices
- Family Well-Being
- Vietnamese History and Culture
The goals and resources for each area are presented below. Linked to each theme are digital stories—short videos in which women speak of their personal experiences, struggles and achievements. These powerful stories can help providers understand the experiences of families with whom they work. They can facilitate discussion about sensitive topics and are useful community education tools. The stories convey the impact of war, immigration, assimilation, depression, and feeding issues on the lives of women and their families.
Nutrition
In this section you will learn more about
- The ingredients and preparation of foods and snacks eaten by Vietnamese infants and young children
- Cultural views about feeding young children
- Cultural views about overweight and underweight
- Strategies Vietnamese families use
- How to promote dialogue and improve communication around healthy feeding practices
Written Materials
Vietnamese traditions and beliefs related to diet and feeding practice are explored in two brochures described below. These materials can be read online or downloaded. In each, culturally sensitive approaches to working with families are presented
“What We Eat to Help Us Grow” - a brochure that describes and illustrates foods and food preparation
“Lan’s Story: Feeding My Children” - a case study that describes the feeding practices, beliefs and struggles of a mother who has very different experiences feeding her two children
Digital Stories
An's Story - A Vietnamese childcare provider discusses how she helped a child overcome his resistance to eating. Includes pictures of foods commonly eaten by infants and young children. (Available in English and Vietnamese)
Thoa's Story - A Vietnamese mother discusses the conflicts between her beliefs about feeding and the recommendations of her child’s pediatrician. (Available in English and Vietnamese)
Family Well-Being
In this section you will learn more about
- Vietnamese family structure and family relationships
- Vietnamese views about mental health and concerns related to stigma and discrimination
- Cultural views related to sign and symptoms of depression
- Cultural views related to developmental concerns in young children
- Strategies to support family mental health with a focus on mothers of young children
- Culturally acceptable approaches to seeking help for mental health concerns
Written Materials
Maternal Depression Brochure - This bilingual brochure, describes the perspectives of key family members - the new mother and her husband and mother-in-law – who have been impacted by postpartum depression. It is designed to be used in Vietnamese communities to improve understanding about depression in new mothers.
Maternal Depression Posters - We developed a poster series to accompany the brochure. Each poster presents the perspective of a different family member. The posters can be used individually or as a set.
Digital Stories
CNK’s story - A Cambodian woman describes her struggle to overcome her depression, manage medication and change her outlook on life. (Available in English)
Rena’s story - A Cambodian mother describes her maternal depression and its effects on her relationships. (Available in English & Khmer)
Rosa’s story - A Hispanic woman describes the impact of her mother’s depression and teenage pregnancy on her relationships with her mother and daughter. (Available in English & Khmer)
Nga’s story - A Vietnamese mother describes her reluctance to accept help from an early intervention program and her acceptance after a Vietnamese advocate reached out to her. (Available in English & Vietnamese)
Vietnamese History and Culture
In this section you will learn more about
- health beliefs common among Vietnamese Americans
- traditional healing techniques used by Vietnamese Americans
- immigration patterns of Vietnamese Americans
- traditional events celebrated by Vietnamese Americans
Resources
Vietnam: A Cultural Primer by Dr. Nguyen, MD - This narrated presentation introduces Vietnamese history, culture and health beliefs. Family structure, kinship values and hierarchy of family and social relations are discussed. The presentation also includes a description of traditional health practices and conceptions of illness. Vignettes describing health encounters are included to illustrate the relationship between traditional health beliefs and practices and health related decision-making and care-seeking.
Digital Stories
Bach Yen’s story - A Vietnamese woman describes her experience of separating from her family and immigrating to the United States (Available in English & Vietnamese)