Interpersonal trauma is pervasive globally and may result in long-term consequences physically, cognitively, behaviorally, socially, and spiritually (Bryant-Davis, 2005b). One of the protective factors that have emerged in the literature is religious coping. Religious coping, spirituality, and faith-based approaches to trauma recovery include endorsement of beliefs, engagement in behaviors, and access to support from faith communities. Compared with negative religious coping, spirituality and positive religious coping have been associated with decreased psychological distress, a finding established with survivors of child abuse, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, community violence, and war. This article focuses on spiritual and religious coping among survivors of child abuse, sexual violence, and war; however, research demonstrates increased use of positive religious coping among some survivors with higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder. Much of the scholarship in this area includes qualitative studies with populations who face increased vulnerability to interpersonal trauma. Research in this area covers the life span from childhood to later adulthood and encompasses both domestic and international studies. The implications of research findings are explored, and future research needs are described. This line of research supports the American Psychological Association (2010) ethical standards that note the recognition of spiritual and religious faith traditions as important aspects of the provision of ethical treatment. Researchers, clinicians, and advocates for trauma survivors are encouraged to attend to the faith traditions and beliefs of persons confronting the potential devastation of traumatic events.

Asian Americans encounter barriers to mental health care, some of which are structural, whereas others may be cultural. Using data from a probability sample (N = 490) drawn from the largest Cambodian refugee community in the United States, the authors assessed the extent to which structural and cultural barriers were experienced. Surprisingly, a relatively small proportion endorsed commonly cited cultural barriers such as distrust of Western care (4%) and greater confidence in alternative care (5%), whereas most endorsed structural barriers such as high cost (80%) and language (66%). Among those with a probable diagnosis, a similar pattern was found. Findings suggest that structural, not culturally based, barriers are the most critical obstacles to care in this U.S. Cambodian refugee community.

Existing instruments for measuring Asian American acculturation emphasize behavior acculturation to the exclusion of value acculturation. Most are based on the assumption that acquisition of European American behavior occurs simultaneously with the loss of Asian behavior. With the advent of the Asian Values Scale (AVS; B.S.K. Kim, D.R. Atkinson, & P.H. Yang, 1999), it is now possible to assess adherence to Asian cultural values. This article describes the development of a scale that can be used to measure Asian American adherence to European American values. The current scale, combined with the AVS, can be used to independently measure Asian American acculturation to European American values and enculturation in Asian values.

Objectives To better document the health status of Cambodian refugees, the physical health functioning, disability, and general health status of Cambodian refugees was compared to that of non-refugee Asian immigrants with similar demographic characteristics. Methods Data were collected between October 2003 and February 2005, from 490 face- to-face interviews conducted with a stratified probability sample of households from the Cambodian community in Long Beach, California. Data on the health status of the general adult population (n=56,270) was taken from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), a telephone interview of a representative sample California residents. Results Cambodian refugees reported exceedingly poor health when compared to both the general population to the Asian participants. This disparity was only slightly reduced when Cambodian refugees were compared to the subsample of Asian immigrants who were matched on gender, age, income, and urbanicity. Conclusions Although Cambodians refugees are older and poorer than the general population, their poor health cannot be fully attributed to these risk factors. Research is needed to guide health policy and practices aimed at eliminating this health disparity.

BACKGROUND:The effectiveness of collaborative care of mental health problems is clear for depression and growing but mixed for anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We know little about whether collaborative care can be effective in settings that serve low-income patients such as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). OBJECTIVE: We compared the effectiveness of minimally enhanced usual care (MEU) versus collaborative care for PTSD with a care manager (PCM). DESIGN: This was a multi-site patient randomized controlled trial of PTSD care improvement over 1 year. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited and enrolled 404 patients in six FQHCs from June 2010 to October 2012. Patients were eligible if they had a primary care appointment, no obvious physical or cognitive obstacles to participation, were age 18-65 years, planned to continue care at the study location for 1 year, and met criteria for a past month diagnosis of PTSD. MAIN MEASURES: The main outcomes were PTSD diagnosis and symptom severity (range, 0-136) based on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Secondary outcomes were medication and counseling for mental health problems, and health-related quality of life assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. KEY RESULTS: Patients in both conditions improved similarly over the 1-year evaluation period. At 12 months, PTSD diagnoses had an absolute decrease of 56.7 % for PCM patients and 60.6 % for MEU patients. PTSD symptoms decreased by 26.8 and 24.2 points, respectively. MEU and PCM patients also did not differ in process of care outcomes or health-related quality of life. Patients who actually engaged in care management had mental health care visits that were 14 % higher (p < 0.01) and mental health medication prescription rates that were 15.2 % higher (p < 0.01) than patients with no engagement. CONCLUSIONS:A minimally enhanced usual care intervention was similarly effective as collaborative care for patients in FQHCs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the Physiological Cost Index of walking with a reciprocating gait orthosis to that of walking with bilateral knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) by subjects with paraplegia resulting from T 12 -L 1 spinal cord lesions. Methodology: Six chronic paraplegic subjects who had T 12 -L 1 spinal cord lesions and who previously wore bilateral KAFOs were recruited. Each subject was fitted with an isocentric reciprocating gait orthosis (IRGO) and received a standardized training program. Subjects were then asked to walk using the two orthotic devices along a 40 m rectangular pathway at a speed that was comfortable for them. The walking speed was measured using a stop watch, and a Polar Heart Rate Monitor was used to measure the heart rate of the subjects. The Physiological Cost Index (PCI) was calculated for comparison. Results: Ambulation using the IRGO (10.46 þ/7 2.00 m/min) was significantly faster (p ¼ 0.009) than ambulation using the bilateral KAFOs (5.51 þ/7 4.30 m/min). The PCI demonstrated when walking with the IRGO (2.85 þ/7 0.77 beats/m) was significantly lower (p ¼ 0.0306) than that of the bilateral KAFOs (6.77 þ/7 3.28 beats/m). Conclusion: Paraplegic patients with T 12 -L 1 spinal cord lesions walk faster and more efficiently using the isocentric reciprocating gait orthosis as compared to using the bilateral KAFOs.

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Background To determine rates of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in Cambodian refugees, and to assess the proportion whose conditions are satisfactorily managed in comparison to the general population. Methods Self-report and laboratory/physical health assessment data obtained from a household probability sample of U.S.-residing Cambodian refugees (N = 331) in 2010-2011 were compared to a probability sample of the adult U.S. population (N = 6360) from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results Prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in Cambodian refugees greatly exceeded rates found in the age- and gender-adjusted U.S. population. Cambodian refugees with diagnosed hypertension or hyperlipidemia were less likely than their counterparts in the general U.S. population to have blood pressure and total cholesterol within recommended levels. Conclusions Increased attention should be paid to prevention and management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Cambodian refugee community. Research is needed to determine whether this pattern extends to other refugee groups.