Introduction: Sakhi's Women's Health Initiative (WHI) was created in October 1999 stemming from a need to better address the health care issues facing Sakhi's domestic violence survivors. The WHI, in the past year, has helped dozens of South Asian survivors address immediate medical needs, which were previously unmet. Methods/Discussion: For the past year, the WHI has expanded its network of health professionals and is outreaching to providers to enhance sensitivity to the health needs of domestic violence survivors in the New York area. Specifically, the WHI is working to create a learning module that can be independently used at hospitals by trained speakers. In addition, Sakhi is forming relationships with hospitals and clinics in order to provide services in areas with high concentrations of South Asians. Sakhi is also collaborating with other organizations that serve South Asian women, including SACAV. Summary: In order to foster an open dialogue among health care professionals, WHI volunteers and advocates attend and present at professional conferences. Sakhi is creating brochures in South Asian languages for distribution at hospitals and clinics. These brochures mainly address the issues of reproductive and mental health. Finally, Sakhi provides education to the women who attend support group meetings. Some of our past topics have included holistic health approaches, stress relief, reproductive health and nutrition. Sakhi's WHI goal is not only to link existing health care resources, but also to give health care professionals the skills to competently address domestic violence in the South Asian population. See www.sakhi.com
Learning Objectives: Sakhi's WHI seeks to educate the South Asian community on health resources already available to them, and to relate specifically to underserved and non-English speaking women who have turned to Sakhi for aid in ending violence in their lives.
Keywords: Asian Women, Domestic Violence
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Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None