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Primary Health Care for Korean Immigrants: Sustaining a Culturally Sensitive Model
Author(s) -
Kim Mi Ja,
Cho HyangIn,
CheonKlessig Young Sun,
Gerace Laina M.,
Camilleri Dorothy D.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1046/j.0737-1209.2002.19307.x
Subject(s) - outreach , nursing , cultural competence , public health , immigration , medicine , community health , population , health promotion , health care , service (business) , program evaluation , medical education , psychology , political science , pedagogy , business , environmental health , public administration , marketing , law
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.