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This case centers on a Vietnamese language and culture program situated within an urban context. It illustrates how sociohistorical and geopolitical contexts interplay in understanding relations within schools as well as school-community relations. A new ethnoburb creates both opportunities and challenges for the Vietnamese community related to cross-ethnic dynamics and the way interactions are shaped bureaucratically, socially, and politically. Increasing proximity of differences produced through processes of urbanization provides opportunity for school and community leaders to examine mechanisms (assumptions about difference, bureaucratic expedience, socio-political power, notions of "natural" social hierarchies, etc.) by which in/tolerance and alienation are produced.

The article explores the ways "uneven geographical development" conditions and is conditioned by local placemaking practices. Guided by David Harvey's work along with Henri Lefebvre's three dimensions of spatial production--spatial practices, representations of space, and spaces of representation or the "spatial imaginary"--I look at the ways a diasporic community of Vietnamese teachers, students, and parents negotiate heritage language and culture within an urban public elementary school. I hope to illustrate how spatial production works on individuals in ways that produce both docile and self-determining bodies negotiating tensions between unity and difference. I argue that in confining our understanding of the spatial to static backdrops, we limit our abilities to imagine spaces of difference, geographies of desire, places of radical openness and possibility, and third spaces of political opportunity. (Contains 1 note.)

Anglo, Black, Hispanic, and Vietnamese parents with children enrolled in school districts in northeast Texas responded to a questionnaire to determinie their perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge about bilingual education. Responses revealed differences according to ethnicity, source of information about bilingual education, and whether a child was in a bilingual program. (JHZ)

Using data from Vietnamese-origin older immigrants/refugees in the Houston, Texas area, we assessed their overall health, chronic conditions, disability, depressive symptoms, and cognitive impairment, and examined the association between their chronic conditions and disability by comorbidity clusters. The mean age of the sample was 76 years old. The majority were married in fair/poor health with several chronic conditions and disabilities and lived with families in low-income households. Hypertension and arthritis were the most common health conditions, but cognitive impairment had the most significant impact on their disability. They experienced similar health conditions to other older Americans but had higher rates of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment possibly due to cultural factors that may have delayed mental health treatment. Culturally and linguistically tailored services created by policymakers, healthcare professionals, and local social service agencies are recommended for the well-being of immigrants/refugees who migrated to the U.S. for a better life., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

Vietnamese are the largest Asian ethnic group in Houston, Texas; however, research on this population is scarce. To address this dearth of knowledge, we developed the Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey. The objective of the study was to explore the sociodemographic and health characteristics of Vietnamese adults aged 65 years and older (n = 132) and their family caregivers (n = 64). Adult-child caregivers (n = 41) were aged between 21 and 65 years old. The majority were married, working, female, and in good to excellent health. Spousal caregivers (n = 23) were between 57 and 82 years old, retired, female, and in fair to good health. Adult children received more caregiving-related help from others compared to spousal caregivers; however, they felt more caregiver burden, had more perceived stress, and were in challenging relationships with care recipients. Differences in life stages of adult-child versus spousal caregivers may contribute to these results. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US and the primary cause of cervical cancer. Vietnamese American women have the highest incidence rates of cervical cancer but one of the lowest HPV vaccination rates. Parental knowledge is an important predictor of HPV vaccination; however, little is known about HPV knowledge in the Vietnamese American community. We aimed to describe the HPV knowledge of Vietnamese mothers in Houston, Texas and their intention to vaccinate their daughters. We conducted face-to-face interviews with Vietnamese mothers who had daughters aged 9-26 years. We collected data on demographics, acculturation, HPV knowledge, and vaccination intention. Knowledge scores (0-5) were calculated using 5 knowledge questions. We used logistic regression to identify predictors of HPV knowledge. Participants had low levels of acculturation by report of reading (31 %) and writing (23 %) English well. Less than 50 % of participants (n = 47) had heard of HPV, and among these, the mean HPV knowledge score was 4. Although only 1 in 3 had discussed HPV with their medical provider, nearly 86 % of participants who had not heard of HPV would vaccinate their daughter if their doctor had recommended it. Good written English skills and belief that the HPV vaccine was not expensive were predictors of HPV awareness. HPV awareness is low among less acculturated Vietnamese mothers in Houston. Future educational efforts about the role of HPV vaccine in preventing cervical cancer should be made in their language when targeting parents of a high risk Vietnamese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer is a major health disparity among Asian Americans, with cervical cancer rates of Vietnamese women being significantly higher than for the general US female population and low screening rates reported for Asian American females. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with young Vietnamese, Filipino, and Korean adults (ages 18-29) to collect information on knowledge, perceptions and sources of information regarding cervical cancer, Pap tests and the human papillomavirus. 16 Korean, 18 Vietnamese, and 18 Filipino (50% female) adults participated in the study. Many participants had never heard of HPV, cervical cancer and Pap testing. Cervical cancer screening rates were low for Korean and Vietnamese females and were influenced by moral beliefs and lack of awareness. Culturally relevant education materials that consider specific Asian ethnicity and language are needed to increase awareness of cervical cancer, Pap testing, and HPV among Asian American young adults [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial fishing trades are among the most dangerous jobs in the world. Little published information exists regarding some populations of commercial fishermen such as along the United States Gulf Coast. Studying these unique and often vulnerable groups is important to characterize potential influences on or barriers to safety in anticipation of designing interventions that can change safety behaviors. Working closely with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), a cross-sectional convenience sample of Gulf Coast shrimp fishermen in and near the Port of Galveston, Texas, was surveyed. The survey included demographic factors and broadly covered areas such as type of work and fishing activities, general or global perceptions and beliefs related to safety and accidents, self-report of ability to use safety equipment or apply procedures aboard vessel, and training considerations. Surveys were obtained following informed consent (n = 133). Of the participants, 96.7% were male with 60.9% ≥40 years old. A majority were of Asian descent (57.1% of all fishermen, 82.1% of shrimp fishermen). Over half claimed to speak little or no English and nearly 60% considered the job to be very safe to neutral. A third to half of respondents expressed doubt about their knowledge of using essential safety equipment in the event of emergency. A large portion of the participants preferred hands-on safety training (40.6%). Important findings about this group of commercial fishermen will help with future development of effective prevention practices through the delivery of culturally appropriate safety awareness training. One element that must be addressed in training programs is to increase the awareness among fishermen about the severe occupational risks inherent in this type of work. Community trust and collaborative partnerships are essential to the success of such initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers involved in community-based participatory research often face challenges due to numerous dynamic factors, including the physical location of the study population, willingness to participate, language barriers, cultural norms, social stigmas, and unpredictable weather and other disasters. Investigators who work with commercial fishermen are all too familiar with these potential obstacles and barriers to performing occupational safety and health research. Such has been the case along the Texas and Louisiana gulf coasts, where the burden of occupational fatalities in the shrimp fishery remains high. Moreover, the need for strategic community, regulatory agency, and research partnerships in order to explore solutions that can help to reduce this burden is ongoing. The IFISH 5 conference and the panel session described in this brief report offered a venue to acknowledge and create awareness of these barriers and opportunities for developing sustainable solutions that can have an impact on this loss of life. The approach taken was to explore the perspectives of a panel of regional collaborators including two researchers, an outreach community liaison, and a marine safety and health official from the U. S. Coast Guard. Key barriers emerging from the panel fell into four themes, each emphasized by one of the four panel members, allowing for discussion of potential solutions. The themes included: (1) language gap; (2) cultural influences and use of personal flotation devices; (3) relationships with the community; and (4) enforcement agency role as a trusted opinion leader. This panel session can readily serve as a model to promote similar exploration of barriers and solutions in commercial fishing across other regions of the US and internationally as well.

This study used the 2010 Health of Houston Survey to examine the physical activity of Asian American adults living in Houston, Texas. Multivariate regression models were conducted to examine the number of moderate leisure physical activity days in the past week and likelihood of having sufficient levels of physical activity. The results showed that Asians were among the least physically active of the major racial/ethnic groups. Most notably, Asians were less likely than whites to have sufficient levels of physical activity and had similarly lower expected numbers of physical activity minutes and days. Within the Asian American population, Vietnamese adults had more physical activity minutes and days than their Chinese counterparts-after controlling for other sociodemographic and health factors. Age- and gender-adjusted rates suggested a significant gender disparity among the Vietnamese and South Asian adults (less so for the Chinese adults), but this varied across different age groups. Several factors emerged as significant predictors of physical activity for Asian Americans, including age, immigration status, speaking a non-English language at home, marital status, and neighborhood incivilities. Findings highlight the need for targeted, culturally appropriate interventions to promote physical activity in Asian American communities.