HMONG RESEARCH NEWSLETTER FALL 2011
(Edited by Dr. Mark Pfeifer)

NEW WORKS IN HMONG STUDIES:

Books/Theses/Reports

Aurea A. Berger. (2011). Hmong Americans and Healthcare Inequalities and Solutions. B.A. Senior Thesis, San Francisco State University. This thesis utilizes oral interviews and questionnaires to investigate access to health care among a Hmong American population in California. This study may be accessed here: http://hmongstudies.org/AureaAragonBergerSeniorThesis2011.pdf

Jacob R. Hickman. (2011). Morality and Personhood in the Hmong Diaspora: A Person-Centered
Ethnography of Migration and Resettlement. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Chicago. This graduate study investigates cultural and psychological adaptations transnational Hmong families have experienced as they have migrated to both Thailand and the United States. The researcher pays particular attention to language shift, changing kinship and ritual networks and messianic movements among his Hmong informants.

Jennifer Kue. (2011). Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer Among Hmong: Knowledge, Perceptions of Risk, and Barriers to Hepatitis B Screening and Vaccination. Ph.D. Dissertation, Oregon State University. This graduate study assesses knowledge and beliefs about hepatitis B infection and transmission: perceptions of risk to hepatitis B; barriers to hepatitis B screening; and vaccination and knowledge of liver cancer among Hmong residing in Oregon.

Meghan C. Mahowald. (2011). Fourth Grade Hmong Students’ Reading Proficiency. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota. This graduate study examines factors involved in reading development and proficiency among fourth grade Hmong students in a large, urban school district.

Lena Moua. (2011). Navigating Multiple Worlds: A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experiences of Hmong Women Leaders. Ed.D. dissertation, California State University, Stanislaus. This graduate study utilizes qualitative methods to examine the personal and professional lives of nine Hmong American female leaders. Of particular interest to the researcher are factors that contributed to the participants’ leadership development; strategies that were used attain and maintain leadership roles and barriers participants encountered.

Faith G. Nibbs. (2011). Refugeehood and Belonging: Processes, Intersections, and Agency in Two Hmong Resettlement Communities. Ph.D. Dissertation, Southern Methodist University. This graduate study assesses processes refugees use to perceive belonging at different scales as they work to reestablish their lives, networks and identities after resettlement. The author compares the experiences of Hmong refugees in two very different settings with disparate levels of state involvement in the resettlement process - Texas in the United States and Gammertingen, Germany.

Karla C. Peterson. (2011). Lost in Translation: How Language and Culture Affect the Perception of Care of Hmong Patients at a Midwestern Primary Care Clinic. Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Saint Thomas. This graduate study uses qualitative methods to assess perceptions of care experienced by Hmong patients in a family medicine clinic in the Midwestern U.S. The researcher pays particular attention to how issues of culture and language at times posed barriers of communication and conflicts of cultural values.

Kong Meng Vang. (2011). Living a Double Life: How Hmong Adolescents adapt with Clashing Cultures. Ed. S. Dissertation, California State University, Fresno. This graduate study examines the relationship between psychological wellbeing and acculturative stress as well as acculturation level among Hmong adolescents.

Tachua Vue. (2011). Variables of High-Performing Hmong English Learners. Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Fresno. This graduate study investigates factors that contribute to the academic success of a cohort of high-performing Hmong English K-12 learners.

Academic Journal Articles/Other

Shelley R. Adler. (2011). “The Night-mare, Traditional Hmong Culture and Sudden Death.” In Shelley R. Adler, Sleep Paralysis: Night-mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-Body Connection. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp. 94-116. This article summarizes the research regarding SUNDS (Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome) which has led to the deaths of 117 Southeast Asians including many Hmong since 1977.

Jill L. Depke and Adedayo A. Onitilo. (2011). “Coalition Building and the Intervention Wheel to Address Breast Cancer Screening in Hmong Women.” Clinical Medicine and Research 9(1): 1-6. This article presents strategies intended to assist medical practitioners in providing breast cancer screening services to Hmong women.

Ivy K. Ho and Khanh T. Dinh. (2011). “Cervical Cancer Screening Among Southeast Asian American Women.” Journal of Immigrant Minority Health 13: 49-60. The authors of this study note that the incidence of cervical cancer among Southeast Asian American women is high while participation in preventive screening is low. This article provides a overview of the research literature on factors associated with cervical cancer screening participation among Vietnamese, Cambodian and Hmong women in the U.S.

Constance Lavoie. (2011). “The Educational Realities of Hmong Communities in Vietnam: The Voices of Teachers.” Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 8(2): 153-175. This study assesses the sociolinguistic situation of Hmong children in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam and the impact of government language policy on their educational opportunities.

Helen Luce, Jackie Redmer, Mark Gideonsen, Lee Dresang, Beth Potter and Sarina Schrager. (2011). “Culturally Specific Maternity Care in Wisconsin.” Wisconsin Medical Journal 110(1): 32-37. This article reviews cultural issues that may impact maternity care among African American, Latina, Hmong and Amish women in Wisconsin.

Robert T. Malison, Rasmon Kalayasiri, Kittipong Sanichwankul, Atapol Sughondhabirom, Apiwat
Mutirangura, Brian Pittman, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Henry R. Kranzler, Joel Gelernter. (2011). “Inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of DSM-IV opioid dependence in a Hmong isolate using the Thai version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for Drug Dependence and Alcoholism (SSADDA).” Addictive Behaviors 36: 156-160. With the goal of identifying genes for common disorders in genetically and environmentally isolated populations, the authors of this study assessed the diagnostic reliability and concurrent validity of DSM-IV opioid dependence in a Hmong population in Thailand.

Urvashi Mulasi-Pokhriyal and Chery Smith. (2011). “Investigating Health and Diabetes Perceptions Among Hmong American Children, 9-18 Years of Age.” Journal of Immigrant Minority Health 13: 470-477. This study investigates how Hmong children perceive health and diabetes risk. Based on the results, the researchers posit a need for culturally appropriate interventions, with the goal of educating children and families about the risks associated with obesity and diabetes.

Bic Ngo and Jill Leet-Otley. (2011). “Discourses about Gender Among Hmong American Policymakers: Conflicting Views about Gender, Culture and Hmong Youth.” Journal of Language, Identity and Education 10(2): 99-118. This article consists of a critical discourse analysis of interviews with 3 influential Hmong American politicians and policymakers. The interviews show divergent perspectives on early marriage, gender norms and issues facing Hmong parents and youth. In their analysis, the authors pay particular attention to the detrimental influence of dominant discourse on Hmong Americans.

Monica Potts. (2011). “The Serfs of Arkansas: Immigrant Farmers are Flocking to the Poultry Industry – Only to Become 21st Century Sharecroppers for Companies like Tyson.” The American Prospect, Volume 22 (3)(April 2011). This magazine article describes experiences of Hmong Americans who have moved to Arkansas and other nearby states over the past decade to work in the chicken farming industry.

Muhammad Y. Sheikh, Mouatou Mouanoutoua, Matthew D. Walvick, Leepao Khang, Jasjit Singh, Steven Stoltz and Paul K. Mills. (2011). “Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection Among Hmong Immigrants in the San Joaquin Valley.” Journal of Community Health 36: 42-46. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV among Hmong in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The research revealed that approximately one out of six out of over 500 Hmong screened in a sample was infected with HBV. Less than 40% of those in the sample reported having a primary care physician.

Pusaporn Tabrizi. (2011). The Role of Social and Cultural Factors in the Degree Completion of Female Hmong College Students. Ph.D Dissertation, Capella University. This graduate study explores the social and cultural factors that facilitate degree completion among a sample of female Hmong students in a 4 year post-secondary university in the Midwestern U.S.

Isao Takei and Arthur Sakamoto. (2011). “Poverty Among Asian Americans in the 21st Century.” Sociological Perspectives 54(2): 251-276. The authors of this study use data from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 American Community Surveys to assess absolute and relative poverty among Asian Americans. Poverty rates among subgroups of Hmong Americans and other Asian American ethnic groups are compared to white and other minority populations in the U.S.

Kimberly Murphy Thalacker. (2011). “Hypertension and the Hmong Community: Using the Health Belief Model for Health Promotion.” Health Promotion Practice 12(4): 538-543. In this article, the researcher provides suggestions for how health practitioners might use the Health Belief Model to help Hmong clients manage hypertension and related conditions.

Daniel Weimer. (2011). “Viewing the drug subcultures of the golden triangle: source control, COIN, modernization and the Hmong in Thailand.” In Daniel Weimer, Seeing Drugs: Modernization, Counterinsurgency, and U.S. Narcotics Control in the Third World, 1969-1976. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 85-112. This book chapter describes policies devised and implemented by the Thai and U.S. governments in the 1960s and 1970s to defuse a perceived security threat and reduce participation in the drug trade among Hmong populations residing in Northern Thailand.

Joseph John Westermeyer. (2011). “Refugee Resettlement to the United States: Recommendations for a New Approach.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 199(8): 532-536. The author of this article compares and contrasts the resettlement experiences of the Hmong and Thai Dam refugees in the United States and posits a resettlement approach that he suggests would improve mental health and acculturation outcomes for future groups of refugees.

Wa Vue, Cindy Wolff, Keiko Goto. (2011). “Hmong Food Helps Us Remember Who We Are: Perspectives of Food Culture and Health among Hmong Women with Young Children.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 43(3): 199-204. This paper summarizes a study that examined perspectives on food habits, acculturation and health among Hmong women and young children in northern California.

Avonne A. Yang and Tama L. Morris. (2011). “Hmong American Women Crossing Borders in Nursing Education: Two Case Studies.” Journal of Nursing Education 50(5): 275-277. This article discusses a study that assessed the perceived impact of Hmong culture on Hmong American womens’ nursing education. The researchers use their findings to posit ways in which schools of Nursing can positively influence the education of Hmong American students.

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU RELEASES HMONG STATE POPULATION DATA FROM 2010 CENSUS:

In the summer of 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau released Hmong State Population data from summary file 1 of the 2010 census. The numbers have been posted here:
http://www.hmongstudies.org/SoutheastAsianAmericans2010Census.html

MEMORANDUM ON THE AVAILABILITY OF HMONG CENSUS DATA:

Significant changes have been adopted by the U.S. census bureau with the pending release of 2010 census data. Some important Hmong American datasets formerly part of the decennial census are now only part of the Annual Community Survey and will be available only for geographic units with larger population thresholds. A memorandum with information about these changes as well as the release schedule for Hmong data in the 2010 U.S. Census is available at: http://hmongstudies.org/AvailabilityofHmongCensusData.pdf

A BIBLIOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO HMONG STUDIES RESEARCH 2005-2010:

A Bibliographic Guide to Hmong Studies Research 2005-2010 is now available online. This guide is intended as an introduction to recent research in different subfields of Hmong Studies including Health, Socioeconomics, Race Relations, Education, Gender, and Hmong in Asia Studies. The guide also includes observations on Areas in Need of Additional Research and on the development of Hmong Studies more generally. To view this publication visit:
http://hmongstudies.org/ABibliographicGuidetoRecentHmongResearch2011.pdf

OTHER NEWS IN HMONG STUDIES:

Better Places Video

Better Places: The Hmong of Providence a Generation Later is the sequel to The Best Place to Live, a 1981
documentary about the early resettlement of the Hmong community in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Hmong in the original documentary came as refugees from Southeast Asia, where they had fought alongside the United States during the Vietnam War. In Better Places: The Hmong of Providence a Generation Later, RISD filmmaker Peter O'Neill and Rutgers University anthropologist Louisa Schein pick up the story 25 years later, pursuing longtime friendships to take a look at what has become of the families they had documented a generation earlier. This sequel, shot over five years, features personal and vivid footage of the daily lives, ceremonies, and ongoing relationships of Hmong Americans from one small city.

For more information about this new video documentary contact Professor Louisa Schein at: schein@rci.rutgers.edu

New University of Wisconsin-Madison/University of Minnesota Hmong Studies Website

(Submitted by Dr. Ian Baird)

A website devoted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison/University of Minnesota Hmong Studies Consortium is currently in development. View the website here: http://hmongstudies.wisc.edu/index.htm

4th International Conference on Hmong Studies

(Submitted by Lee Pao Xiong)

Call for Papers/Presentations
The 4th International Conference on Hmong Studies
March 30 - 31, 2012
Concordia University, St. Paul
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104

The Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University-St. Paul is pleased to announce its Fourth International Conference on Hmong Studies. The purpose of this conference is to provide opportunities for emerging and established scholars to share their research on Hmong related topics, to inspire and motivate students to engage in scholarly research, and to recognize distinguished scholars for their work in the field of Hmong Studies. Visit this link for additional information: http://www2.csp.edu/hmongcenter/Conference_Web_Page.html