Primary Health Care for Korean Immigrants: Sustaining a Culturally Sensitive Model

Abstract

This report describes a 4-year long bilingual interdisciplinary primary health care project that was designed to make culturally sensitive services available to underserved Korean immigrants in Chicago. It also describes some of the particular needs of this population and the strategies that the project staff adopted to identify and address the population's mental health needs. The project reflected the successful collaborative efforts of four participating principals: the Korean community, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The model of service demonstrated in the project paired a bilingual advanced practice nurse, a certified family nurse practitioner, with a bilingual community advocate to conduct a program emphasizing community outreach and health promotion and prevention. A bilingual physician provided consultation for the nurse and attended to patients in need of medical care. Patients were referred to bilingual community social service agencies for assistance with a variety of other problems. A central goal of the project was for the services developed during its course to be assimilated into the regular programming of the Chicago Department of Public Health, a goal that was achieved. Finally, some of the challenges of introducing role change into an organization are discussed.

Korean migrants' experiences and attitudes towards mental illness and mental health services in New Zealand

“…Participants mentioned that Korean language was their language of choice or their preferred language. This finding is in support of past research (Kim et al, 2002). Many participants in this study, including those who were proficient in English language, commented that they preferred to see Korean professionals and asked during the interviews if there were Korean mental health professionals working locally, and in New Zealand.…”

“…Kim et al (2002) found that even though migrants chose to migrate to the USA and live as migrants in a new country, they had a tendency to maintain both the Korean language and the Korean cultural way of life. Min and Song (1998) reported that first generation migrants tended to hold to their cultural values.…”

“…Korean migrants' mental health needs are difficult to determine due to cultural beliefs and attitudes towards mental health (Kim, Cho, Cheon-Klessig, Gerace, & Camilleri, 2002). Kim et al (2002) found that even though migrants chose to migrate to the USA and live as migrants in a new country, they had a tendency to maintain both the Korean language and the Korean cultural way of life.…”

Integrating Immigrants into the U.S. Health System

“…With the increased diversity of the U.S. population, physicians and other health care professionals have been encouraged to develop competence in providing culturally sensitive care to people with backgrounds other than their own [14,15].…”

Low mental health treatment participation and Confucianist familial norms among East Asian immigrants: A critical review

“…Maturity is construed as the ability to control personal feelings, particularly those of discontent, giving rise to a common hesitation among East Asians toward broaching the subject of emotions or discussing reflections (Kim et al, 2002). Deriving self-esteem from avoidance of confrontation resembles an emotional suppression similar to the syndrome identified in Korean culture as Hwabung, characterized by the repression of anger, disappointment, and unfulfilled dreams within an individual (Pang, 1990).…”