In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Community Policy Brief
  • S. Megan Berthold, PhD, LCSW, Sengly Kong, PhD, Theanvy Kuoch, MA, LPC, Elizabeth A. Schilling, PhD, Rasy An, MA, Mary Blatz, MA, Rorng Sorn, MS, Sivheng Ung, BA, Yorn Yan, MBA, Mary Scully, APRN, Seiya Fukuda, MSW, MA, and Lorin Mordecai, MSW, LSW

COMMUNITY POLICY BRIEF

What Is the Purpose of this Study?

  • • This study engaged Cambodian-led nonprofit organizations in six regions of the United States in a community–university partnership that used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to:

    1. 1 further develop the Cambodian American community's capacity to design and conduct health research meaningful to their community via a CBPR approach;

    2. 2 train and deploy bilingual community health workers to gather health-related data from their communities using mobile technology; and

    3. 3 measure the feasibility and effectiveness of our efforts.

What Is the Problem?

  • • Cambodians who came to the United States as refugees have experienced high rates of trauma during the Khmer Rouge genocide and in refugee camps on the Thai–Cambodian border.

  • • Those Cambodians who were adolescents in the United States have faced significant community violence and racial discrimination, and these experiences are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression.

  • • Cambodian Americans have higher rates of persistent health and mental health problems compared to the general U.S. population; are more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorders, major depressive disorder, and co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder and depression; and are also at greater risk for hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

  • • Limited systematic study of community health and a relatively modest community capacity for collecting data contribute to these disparities.

What Are the Findings?

  • • Community health workers, leaders, and community members reported largely positive experiences with the iPads and spoken Khmer format of the community health survey, despite inconsistent Internet connectivity.

  • • The institutional capacity of Cambodian American community-based organizations to collect health-related data in their own communities was strengthened.

  • • Our efforts proved to be both feasible and effective. [End Page 107]

Who Should Care Most?

  • • Community-based organizations providing services to Cambodian communities or other vulnerable populations.

  • • Cambodian community members living in the United States as well as other trauma survivors or refugees.

  • • Health and mental health service providers.

  • • Researchers studying the feasibility of using mobile technology in CBPR health studies.

Recommendations for Action

  • • CBPR approaches that use technology should continue to be used to research health disparities in Cambodian American and other communities.

  • • Community engagement in this research is essential.

  • • Trained and experienced community health workers and community leaders are an asset to their communities and uniquely placed to protect the rights and well-being of their community members. [End Page 108]

S. Megan Berthold
University of Connecticut School of Social Work
Sengly Kong
Khmer Health Advocates
Theanvy Kuoch
Khmer Health Advocates
Elizabeth A. Schilling
Center for Public Health and Health Policy, InCHIP, UConn Health
Rasy An
Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell
Mary Blatz
Mount Carmel Cambodian Center
Rorng Sorn
Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia
Sivheng Ung
Cambodian-American Community of Oregon
Yorn Yan
United Cambodian Association of Minnesota
Mary Scully
Khmer Health Advocates
Seiya Fukuda
Health Services Research Division, Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Lorin Mordecai
University of Connecticut School of Social Work
...

pdf

Share