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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Erica McNamara¹, Kha Van², Grace Sim¹, and Bophamony Vong¹. (1) Lowell Community Health Center, 15-17 Warren Street, Lowell, MA 01852, 978-746-7839, EricaMc@lchealth.org, (2) Cambodian Youth Development Partnership, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell, 45 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852

Through the Cambodian Youth Development Partnership (CYDP), Lowell Community Health Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell are realizing their vision of an innovative youth-driven and health focused partnership that engages Cambodian-American youth ages 12-18 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Risk factors and behaviors, which place youth from Cambodian backgrounds (residing in the 2nd largest resettled Cambodian community in the U.S.) at high risk include disproportionate rates of teen pregnancy, gang involvement, STD transmission/infection, runaways, substance abuse, court involvement, school drop out, and resulting effects of second generation trauma. Overall, this presentation raises awareness on the role of innovative programming to form peer support circles, build family connections, enhance bi-cultural identity, and inspire personal responsibility to protect against risky behaviors through recognizing the specific needs of 2nd generation refugees.

Presentation Overview: 1) Profile of Cambodian-American youth in Lowell, MA including risk and protective factors that impact specific behaviors; 2) Overview of bi-cultural identity and fragmentation associated with Cambodian youth culture in Lowell, MA including the importance of historical narrative, family strengthening, and communication; 3) Lessons learned from prevention programming with local Cambodian youth including adapting evidence-based curricula, peer leadership, youth as “teaching assistants”, and shared programmatic responsibility for youth participants; 4) How CYDP strategies can affect prevention work with other Southeast Asian youth including a look at specific carve-out initiatives such as the “Journey to Healing Series” designed specifically for 2nd generation torture/trauma survivors and Family Strengthening workshops at local Buddhist temples.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify risk and protective factors for Cambodian youth and how this impacts programmatic approaches for other Southeast Asian teens
• Describe the importance of bi-cultural identify and fragmentation and how this impacts relationship-building and trust for 2nd generation refugees
• Articulate promising prevention practices including the use of evidence-based curricula and peer leadership that can influence risk reduction amongst Cambodian youth and other Southeast Asian teens.
• List 3 specific examples that enhances engagement of 2nd generation refugees and their families

Keywords: Refugees, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered