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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Miyong Kim, RN, PhD, Hae-Ra Han, RN, PhD, Hyun Jeong Park, RN, MSN, Hwayun Lee, RN, BSN, and Gina Pistulka, RN, MPH. The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-614-1443, mkim@son.jhmi.edu
Korean American elderly (KAE) are predominantly monolingual, first-generation immigrants who still carry distinctive cultural beliefs and attitudes about health promotion activities. KAE often think it is inappropriate to “bother” their children for minor health concerns (unless there is a serious health problem), which results in a lack of regular screenings and preventive health practices. Language barriers and lack of health insurance also keep the elderly from getting continuous and adequate care. To address the unique needs of KAE and respond to the national call to reduce health disparities among minorities, the Johns Hopkins University Healthy Korean American Research Initiatives, consisting of Korean faculty members, a number of Korean graduate students, and a doctor of the Hopkins Schools of Nursing and Public Health and funded by the Baltimore Korean community and the City Health Department, has established a strong rapport with the Korean senior community center in Baltimore, Maryland, which has 430 registered and 180 regular members. Since October 2000, the Hopkins Initiatives has performed a monthly health education program in Korean, which includes blood pressure monitoring, medication screening, seasonal flu vaccination for free, as well as health counseling at the center. Our health education program encompasses a broad spectrum of health topics that are summarized each month, printed in the center newsletter, and distributed to all KAE members. We have successfully demonstrated ways to access the KAE population, a hard-to-reach, underserved group and conduct an effective, culturally tailored health promotion program.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.