Hmong American

“Health House, a social-service agency that facilitates medical care for Merced County 's non-English-speaking residents, was found in Merced… [providing] medical interpreters in a half-dozen languages, including Hmong [among its many services]”, and this legacy has not been isolated to the Hmong-populated cities of California (Fox,…

strangers (to save their daughter) who viewed a condition with spiritual origin to the Hmong as a neurological disorder that had to be stopped rather than controlled. As a result, treating Lia’s epilepsy caused contradictory approaches between Lia’s parents and the Western doctors as to how to treat the Hmong child. Anne Fadiman, author of the book, takes an…

I hope that somewhere, this resembles someone’s true story. Of the several cultural conflicts, the one scene that sticks out is Walt’s accepting the invitation to the Hmong barbeque next door was a demonstration of differences in cultures. His gesture in putting his hand on a child’s head was an unacceptable act within the Hmong, as they believe the soul resides on their head and is not…

define the roles of gender, but it impacts one culture more than others. The majority of the Hmong populations are people who lived in the hills of Laos. Large groups of Hmong people lived in poverty, had no or little education, and survived on farming. They are independent people who cared most for the survival of their family, thus; they do anything to make ends meet. The Americans recruited the Hmong people to fight in the Vietnam War and in exchange for their support, most of the population…

Introduction: The film Gran Torino (2008), directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski tells the story of a racist war veteran whose cold and bitter heart is thawed through his interactions with his Hmong neighbors by using classic film technique to explore the importance of family. This inspires a great change in the way he treated them, his own family and even himself. Eastwood uses the beginning and ending to highlight this change through symbolism, camera angles and dialogue.…

the story about Lia Lee, her American Doctors, and her Hmong parents. American Doctors and nurses at that time thought that their methods for evaluating and resolving medical problems was the only way and they refused to see how other people from different parts of the world practice medicine and healing. The Hmong had healing methods that varied from shamanism, dermal treatments, and herbs. Each method used depended on the problem the patient was having. The American doctors had healing methods…

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the tragic story of a young Hmong girl named Lia who suffers from epilepsy and who was the victim of a cultural collision and misunderstanding between her Hmong parents and her American doctors in Merced, California. The story follows Lia’s family, the Lees, as they navigate the American culture and system while maintaining strong ties with their traditions, practices, and rituals. The author, Anne Fadiman, uses the battle between the doctors of Merced…

Throughout the years I’ve always found it easier to look at a culture and notice its unique features compared to fully understanding my own. Growing up in a rural community of Green Bay, Wisconsin presented me with minimal experiences of other cultures making this particular assignment incredibly intriguing for me. My parents grew up very poor and neither of them had much when they moved to Green Bay, both of them had to work extremely hard to get to where they are today. Because of this they…

The film displayed Walt’s ignorance of the Hmong culture as he reluctantly joined his neighbor, Sue, at her family gathering. As Walt entered the house with Sue, he was surrounded by her family members, and he immediately began to question if he was acting inappropriately because he noticed that…

Nurses must have an understanding of the client’s culture. Understanding the client’s culture will promote culturally congruent interventions. Culturally congruent intervention for the Hmong culture regarding Hep B would consist of the use of eastern and western medicine. Eastern medicine that the Hmong culture could practice includes Shamanism, coining, cupping, herbal medicine, spooning or acupuncture (Xiong, M., et al., 2013). Shamanism is a belief in the spirit world and its connection…