The Vietnamese American Community: A Case Study

Health Care The Vietnamese American community is increasing at a rapid speed within the United States. The community arrived to the United States with high expectation for a better life but the achievement of that requires financial stability. A major issue that many Americans are experiencing is the ability to afford healthcare. Many healthcare provider are initiated through a person’s employer, others receive public assistance and the remaining do not have healthcare. The United States has credited a policy that will allow the citizens in need to afford healthcare. Healthcare services within the United States has become more accessible to the citizens through new policies recently implemented for people who cannot afford healthcare or qualify …show more content…
The physical health of the community is treated by medication or herbals that are a replication of their culture. The Vietnamese Americans population have troubles communicating effectively with healthcare providers and doctors. This is a major dilemma in relation to mental health and articulation of the feelings of disparities. The feeling of depression may be associate with the elderly population due to their relocate inability to assimilate to the American culture. The elderly may not be able to explain the feelings or understand the symptoms of depression and anxiety to the doctor. The population could have a healthcare provider but be reluctant to receive services and adequate treatment caused by their cultural beliefs. According to Sorkin, & Ngo-Metzger (2014), 14% of the Vietnamese have symptoms of mental health disorders and report a low use of mental health services (p.23). Mental health is not acknowledged in the Vietnamese community because it can be hidden by a person’s daily routine. The population that is more likely to experience the mental health dilemmas is the younger population. The younger population has to experience adjusting to a new environment and being considered different. This population is more likely to be bullied, criticized and discrimination because of their differences. The discrimination is caused by factors that cannot be altered …show more content…
Sorkin,& Ngo-Metzger, (2014) stated, Cultural and linguistic competence is defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situation (p.26).The healthcare provider and doctors becoming more cultural competent should include providing services in the person’s native language. These will also eliminate the lack of effective communicate between the patient client relationship to enhance the care process. The article also states a need for care providers that speak the native language of the person. This is suggested to eliminate medical errors by do to the lack of effective communication (p.27). With this change, the person would need to make the Vietnamese American feel comfortable to decrease the stress levels which can need to other health