Peter Nien-chu Kiang

Education as Catalyst for Intergenerational Refugee Family Communication About War and Trauma

This article describes influences on intergenerational communication within refugee families about sociocultural trauma and explores how education may positively affect this communication process. Drawing on qualitative research and grounded theory through a larger study concerning intergenerational effects of and communication about trauma in Cambodian American refugee families, this article highlights ways that education may contribute to healing broken narratives within refugee families affected by war and genocide. Although focusing on Cambodian American experiences, we suggest that the role of education may be similarly helpful in facilitating intergenerational communication for other individuals with personal and familial experiences with trauma, such as students from refugee families who have fled Vietnam, Somalia, Bosnia, and other sites of forced migration.

Linking Strategies and Interventions in Asian American Studies to K-12 Classrooms and Teacher Preparation.

This article documents a series of programmatic strategies developed within an Asian American Studies Program at one urban public university to impact positively the education of K–12 students and teachers—especially, but not exclusively, those who are Asian American. The article first presents four critical challenges facing practitioners in the Asian American Studies field who wish to intervene more actively within the domain of K–12 education. These include the complex demographic realities of Asian American populations; the exclusion of Asian American Studies content in the K–12 curriculum; the limited flow of Asian Americans into the field of education; and the confounding impact of high-stakes testing across all these areas. The article then describes six specific interventions by a university-based Asian American Studies program that have ecologically supported Asian American teacher education and professional development as well as K–12 curriculum development, parent/family training and high schoo...This article documents a series of programmatic strategies developed within an Asian American Studies Program at one urban public university to impact positively the education of K–12 students and teachers—especially, but not exclusively, those who are Asian American. The article first presents four critical challenges facing practitioners in the Asian American Studies field who wish to intervene more actively within the domain of K–12 education. These include the complex demographic realities of Asian American populations; the exclusion of Asian American Studies content in the K–12 curriculum; the limited flow of Asian Americans into the field of education; and the confounding impact of high-stakes testing across all these areas. The article then describes six specific interventions by a university-based Asian American Studies program that have ecologically supported Asian American teacher education and professional development as well as K–12 curriculum development, parent/family training and high school youth development.

Policy challenges for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in education 1

Beginning with an overview of historical commitments by AAPI populations to educational advocacy, this article analyzes the current US educational policy context of No Child Left Behind at the national and local level, and argues that both its rhetoric and system of ‘accountability’ have been crafted in ways that are completely unaccountable to AAPI communities. The article offers specific recommendations to address critical needs for youth, parent, and community development as well as for clearer AAPI leadership, representation, and activism in relation to education policy. Using specific examples to illustrate larger issues and contradictions, it also argues that educational policy analysis and development with greater AAPI accountability must be linked with the stories and struggles of real people, just as efforts to problem‐solve daily life issues of individuals, families, and communities must address larger structures and systems at the policy level in order to be effective and sustainable.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Immunizations among Asian American College Students: Infection, Exposure, and Immunity Rates.

Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, exposure, and immunity among Asian American college students as a basis for evaluating HBV screening and vaccination policy. Participants and Methods: Self-identified Asian American college students aged 18 years or older were examined. Serological tests of HBV surface antigens, antibodies to HBV core antigens (anti-HBc), and antibodies to HBV surface antigens (anti-HBs) were used to determine HBV infection and immunization prevalence. Results: Among US-born students (n = 66), none was infected with HBV, 68% (n = 45) had immunity from vaccination, and 1 student had evidence of past exposure to HBV. Among foreign-born students (n = 142), 4% (n = 5) had evidence of chronic HBV infection, 62% (n = 88) had immunity from vaccination, and 19% (n = 27) had results indicating past exposure to HBV. Asian American college students showed very little knowledge of HBV vaccination; 43% reported that they had received vaccination, whereas 50% did not know whether they had received it or not. Conclusions: The prevalence of current and past HBV infection among foreign-born Asian American college students is significantly higher (p < .01), than US-born students. The lack of awareness of their HBV-infected status points out the importance of routine HBV screening of high-risk populations such as Asian students.

Factors associated with alcohol problems among Asian American college students: gender, ethnicity, smoking and depressed mood

Objective: This study examined gender, ethnicity and psychological factors associated with alcohol problems among Asian American college students, using the CAGE questionnaire. Method: The study is a cross-sectional, school-based survey. College students who self-identified as Asian, participated. Results: The sample comprised 258 Asian American college students (132 men and 126 women). In all, 17.7% of males and 8.9% of females had alcohol problems based on CAGE score of 2 or more; yet, the difference was marginally significant (χ2 [1, N = 225] = 3.7, p = 0.08). Chinese and Vietnamese males tended to have more alcohol problems than females in their respective ethnic subgroups. Among Koreans, more females (33%) had the problems than males (11%). Male students did not differ in alcohol problems by ethnicity, whereas Korean females were more likely to have the problems (χ2 [4, N = 112] = 13.0, p = 0.01) than females in the other groups. After controlling for gender, Asian American college students who were older (≥25), smoking currently and reporting depressed mood were more likely to have alcohol problems. Conclusions: College health center workers should monitor more closely Asian students who have the risk factors for early detection of and treatment for alcohol problems.

Using qualitative methods to develop a contextually tailored instrument: Lessons learned

Objective: To develop a population-specific instrument to inform hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papilloma virus (HPV) prevention education and intervention based on data and evidence obtained from the targeted population of Khmer mothers reflecting their socio-cultural and health behaviors. Methods: The principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) guided the development of a standardized survey interview. Four stages of development and testing of the survey instrument took place in order to inform the quantitative health survey used to collect data in stage five of the project. This article reports only on Stages 1-4. Results: This process created a new quantitative measure of HBV and HPV prevention behavior based on the revised Network Episode Model and informed by the targeted population. The CBPR method facilitated the application and translation of abstract theoretical ideas of HBV and HPV prevention behavior into culturally-relevant words and expressions of Cambodian Americans (CAs). Conclusions: The design of an instrument development process that accounts for distinctive socio-cultural backgrounds of CA refugee/immigrant women provides a model for use in developing future health surveys that are intended to aid minority-serving health care professionals and researchers as well as targeted minority populations.

Using narrative intervention for HPV vaccine behavior change among Khmer mothers and daughters: A pilot RCT to examine feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness

PURPOSE To develop a theory-guided culturally grounded narrative intervention to promote HPV vaccination behavior and examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the intervention among dyads of Cambodian American mothers and daughters. METHOD The principles of community-based participatory research guided the development and evaluation and involved two phases: Phase 1: Development of storytelling narrative intervention videos which focused on a series of HPV vaccination-related messages and which integrated the narrative theory with the revised network episode model (rNEM); Phase 2: conducting the pilot RCT with 19 dyads of Khmer mothers and daughters aged from 14 to 17years to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the study. FINDINGS Recruitment was completed in 7months with an overall retention of 84%. The acceptability of the intervention was high, as reflected by the number of positive comments on the narrative video. Preliminary data indicate that vaccine uptake at one-month follow-up was the same (2 vs. 2) between intervention and control groups. However, daughters in the narrative intervention group reported higher intention to receive HPV vaccination within one month compared to the control group (4 vs. 1). CONCLUSION All the procedures to inform a full RCT were examined, including identification of eligible participants, recruitment, randomization, intervention adherence, and short-term follow-up. The positive preliminary outcomes and feedback support the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the theory-guided narrative intervention.

Debunking the myth: low knowledge levels of HBV infection among Asian American college students

Objective: To examine the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related knowledge among Asian American college students and to determine whether there are significant differences in the level of HBV knowledge among Asian American subgroups. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was self-administered to assess a sample of 258 Asian American students′ knowledge about HBV at the campus of the research site. Results: Knowledge regarding transmission and consequences of HBV infection was poor. Of a possible knowledge score of 14, the median number of correct answers was eight. There were no significant differences between the subgroups of Asian American college students in total knowledge of HBV infection. Conclusion: The findings of this study point to the fact that the lack of knowledge and awareness is not limited to community settings only but also includes higher education environment. This finding brings to the forefront the importance of HBV education for Asian American college students.