Perceived stress of New Orleans Vietnamese American women affected by Hurricane Katrina: A case study

Although the state of Louisiana has relatively small numbers of people of Asian Ancestry, pre-Katrina New Orleans had the highest number of Asian-Americans in the state. The Versailles area of East New Orleans was home to almost sixty thousand Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. In August through December 2006, an assessment of stress response of the Vietnamese American women post Hurricane Katrina was conducted. Focus groups as well as key-informant interviews were conducted. The instruments as well as the transcribed qualitative data were assessed using back translation method to ensure accuracy of information being reported. The data was analyzed using ATLAS ti software. Themes related to stress and coping were identified as well as emerging themes related to community healthcare needs. Preliminary results indicate that exposure to property damage, loss of lives and livelihood was positively associated with high stress levels. The women discussed difficulties associated with access to health facilities and stressed the roles that cultural competence and linguistic capability play in delivery of efficient as well as culturally appropriate health education services. The main coping strategy reported was being involved in the church and bonding with other community members. The cultural and social cohesiveness of this group was a strong determinant of them successfully coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, their socio-political isolation from other groups in the city was now perceived as a barrier to successfully establishing a bilingual healthcare center in their community.