Learn about the Hmong Culture:
A Cultural Presentation and an In-service

Introduction
For my senior project I wanted to work with older adults from the Hmong Community in our County. My project started by researching about older adults and their caregivers. The literature I reviewed concluded that caregivers endure stress, fatigue, and burn-out (Brewer, 2002). As the primary caregiver for my mother, I realized the pressures and burdens I have endured. The Hmong culture is based on a filial piety system; this means it is the obligation of the children to be obedient and to care for their parents. Being Hmong, I noticed it is a taboo to seek formal services to help care for the older adults. This leads to high burn out rate for the Hmong caregivers. I wanted to bring awareness to the Hmong community that there are respite care services available.

Statement of Need
Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing minorities in the United States (Li, 2004). The majority are foreign born, which makes their health factors complex (Dhooper, 2003). While the majority of older Asian Americans will live healthy independent lives, there are those who need formal support to remain in their community (Li, 2004). Members of this minority group are challenged with barriers that prevent them from seeking services. There is limited knowledge about available services, lack of financial resources, transportation, and professional translators. Several culture barriers that Asian Americans may be confronted with are: lack of English language proficiency, religious beliefs, cultural values and traits, and culturally insensitive staff (Li, 2004).

Administrators of adult services have stated that this minority population has been poorly represented throughout adult services in the area (personal communication November 3, 2005). They have suggested that agencies address the cultural barriers that minority groups are challenged with. They have also recommended educating and training the staff to become culturally competent and culturally sensitive. Minority groups in the communities have expressed the fear of social services not understanding their culture and up-bringing. This has prevented certain minority groups from seeking services. There is a concern that there is an under utilization of minority groups at a local Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) (Administrator Personal communication, November 3, 2005).
As a result of the information gained from reviewing the literature and the interviews, I decided to organize an in-service for the staff and bring the Hmong community into the agency to help link the gaps between ADHC and the ethnic minority community. Since there are many different ethnic groups in our area, our main focus would be on the Hmong. This community project would seek to increase both professionals’ and the Hmong community members’ knowledge about each other. This would help bridge the gap in services and build communication between the Hmong and the Peg Taylor adult day health care center.

Description of Intervention
The project consisted of two parts. The first part was of my community project was to bring the Hmong community into our agency. There was a 20 to 60 minute timeframe where individuals from the Hmong community could share cultural dance, music, folk tales, and crafts. The second part of my community project was an in-service for the staff to help increase and educate them about the Hmong culture. The in-service was to include an overview of the history of the Hmong and their immigration to the United States. In addition give a brief description and demonstration of herbal remedies, spiritual healing and acupuncture/acupressure. There were recommendations on how to work with and address the Hmong population. The expectation for this community project was to help build a relationship between the Hmong Community and ADHC.

Evaluation of Invention
After the cultural presentation, there was time allocated for the staff and clients to ask question and make comments. The clients stated they were pleased with the cultural presentation. In addition, they stated they enjoyed the musical instruments and asked if the performers can return in the near future. The clients appeared very appreciative for getting the opportunity to experience music from other culture. The common themes that appeared to come up during the discussion was the history of the Hmong, the material of the musical instruments, and how many Hmong resides in Butte County. These questions and comments where answered and reflected by performers and the staff from the Hmong Cultural Center and Hmong Community Unit of Oroville.

After the in-services there was time allocated for an open discussion. This time was for the staff to ask questions or make comments about the in-service. The staff stated that they were pleased for having the opportunity to have an in-service put on by me the social work intern. They stated the information was very detailed and informative. They stated that the in-services have helped open the door for further communication between the Hmong Community and the center.

Reflection on the Project
Overall the planning of my project was a success. My supervisor, staff and executive director supported my project. The downfall was the time constraint. After returning from winter break, my supervisor notified me that my agency might be closing. At that point, the earliest we might have to close was at the end of February. However, with funding from the city, my agency was able to stay open. During the time from mid January to the end of February, I postponed all my meetings until I received notice from the director. With the possibility of my agency closing, that left me with little time to plan and meet with people. When I was able to reschedule another appointment with the Hmong Cultural Center it was in late March. With the collaboration of the Hmong Cultural Center we were not able to schedule an in-service until May 3 and the cultural presentation until May 1.

As planned, the cultural presentation took place at the ADHC center. The cultural presentation was planned for an hour, but only lasted 20 minutes. Since the presentation was during the day, it was difficult to have high school students come in to dance or sing. There were only two musical presenters. The first gentleman played on an Nca and Raj (Hmong violin instrument) and Tshuab Nplooj (leaf blowing). The second gentleman played on the Qeej (Hmong flute). The clients at the center expressed joy and excitement for having cultural presenters in the center. The in-service was also a success. There were 11 staff that attended, and three presenters including myself. I received many compliments from the staff which was a confident booster.

Reference

• Brewer, L. (2002). Families that care: a qualitative study of families engaged in the provision of elder care. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 39(3), 41-56.
• Dhopper, S. (2003). Health care needs for foreign-born Asian Americans: An overview. Health and Social Work, 28; 63-73.
• Li, H. (2004). Barriers to and unmet needs for supportive services: Experiences of Asian-American caregivers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 19; 241-260