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Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States with an estimated 418,000 premature deaths each year. Among Asian American/Pacific Islanders, there are an estimated 12,000 premature deaths each year. Cigarette smoking and tobacco use among Asian/Pacific Islanders are varied, ranging from 43% among Southeast Asians to 28% for Chinese. Studies that have targeted Southeast Asians have focused primarily on Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese. However, there are no studies that estimate smoking prevalence among the Hmong, nor research that explores the tobacco patterns and practices of this unique group. The proposed project will focus on Hmong cultural patterns and practices of tobacco use.
Because Hmong cultural tobacco practices and patterns have not been researched, this project will focus on gathering preliminary information to bolster the core understandings of Hmong tobacco use. This information will be used to develop a survey tool, to be applied in a future research project, that will enable the full exploration of smoking patterns of this population with a valid and reliable tool. The specific aims of the project will be to gather information from the Hmong population in California re: 1) The perceptions Hmong hold toward tobacco, 2) the nature of current tobacco use in the Hmong population, 3) the cultural factors that influence and reinforce tobacco use, 4) how length of residence in the US affects tobacco use, and 5) what processes will lead to health-related behavior change in the Hmong.
To gather this information, six focus groups will be conducted with ten to twelve individuals in each group. Separate focus groups will be conducted for: (1) Males 30-55 years, (2) females 30-45 years, (3) males 19-29 years, (4) females 19-29 years, and combined male/female groups for those 15-18 years (5) and 10-14 years (6). Each focus group will be guided in their discussion by a Hmong facilitator exploring key issues in the Hmong language about tobacco-related practices and patterns. Information gathered will be analyzed and categorized to capture overarching themes emerging from the focus group responses.
Based on the information obtained from the first round of participant focus groups, a second set of focus groups will meet to further refine the identified themes and issues. Additionally, the focus group participants will be given an initial draft survey to assess the appropriateness of the content and constructs of the tool, which would be finalized and administered in a future research effort. The second round of six focus groups will be comprised of the same age/gender groups as in the first round, but involve different individual participants recruited from throughout the community. The expected outcomes of this project are twofold. The project will produce (1) a preliminary understanding of the tobacco-related patterns and cultural practices of the Hmong, and' (2) an initial survey instrument to further assess smoking and tobacco use among a cultural group for which a paucity of research exists. |
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Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States with an estimated 418,000 premature deaths each year. Among Asian American/Pacific Islanders, there are an estimated 12,000 premature deaths each year. Cigarette smoking and tobacco use among Asian/Pacific Islanders are varied, ranging from 43% among Southeast Asians to 28% for Chinese. Studies that have targeted Southeast Asians have focused primarily on Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese. However, there are no studies that estimate smoking prevalence among the Hmong, nor research that= cplores the tobacco patterns and practices of this unique group. This project focused on Hmong cultural patterns and practices of tobacco use.
Because Hmong cultural tobacco practices and patterns have not been researched, this project focused on gathering preliminary information to bolster the core understandings of Hmong tobacco use. The information was used to develop a survey tool, to be applied in a future research project, that will enable the full exploration of smoking patterns of this population with a valid and reliable tool. The specific aims of the project were to gather information from the Hrnong population in California re: 1) The perceptions Hmong hold toward tobacco, 2) the nature of current tobacco use in the Hmong population, 3) the cultural factors that influence and reinforce tobacco use, 4) how length of residence in the U.S. affects tobacco use, and 5) what processes will lead to health-related behavior change in the Hmong.
Information was gathered from two sets of six culturally appropriate focus groups with ten to twelve individuals in each group. Focus groups were separated into: (1) Males 30-55 years, (2) females 30-45 years, (3) males 19-29 years, (4) females 19-29 years, and combined male/female groups for those 15-18 years (5) and 10-14 years (6). Each focus group was guided in their discussion by a Hmong facilitator exploring key issues in the Hmong language about tobacco-related practices and patterns. Information gathered was analyzed using a qualitative software, Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing version 4 (NUD*IST4), to capture overarching themes emerging from the focus group responses. The fording indicated that that Hmong commonly used tobacco for wedding ceremonies, funerals, spirit healing/calling rituals called "neng", and medicinal purposes. Further analysis showed that young adults (10-18 years), middle adults (19-29 years), and the elders (30-55 years) have different perceptions regarding tobacco use. Young adults perceived their tobacco use as experimentation and "to hang out with friends", while middle adults perceived smoking tobacco as a "personal choice". The elders perceived smoking'tobacco as a "privilege" and the belief that smoking tobacco "numbs the pains of old age".
The results of the project produced (1) a preliminary understanding of the tobacco-related patterns and cultural practices of the Hmong, and (2) an initial survey instrument to further assess smoking and tobacco use among a cultural group for which a paucity of research exists. The initial draft survey was administered to Hmong participants in a third set of focus groups to assess the appropriateness of the content and constructs. In addition, the survey was pilot tested at a Hmong community event at Melody Park. |
