Outreach strategies for Southeast Asian communities: Experience, practice,and suggestions for approaching Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities to provide thalassemia education and trait testing

This article outlines general strategies for outreaching to Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities with thalassemia education. Because of p ositive net migration and increased birthrates during the last 15 years, As ian Pacific Islanders are among the fastest growing populations in Californ ia. Dr. Fred Lorey of California Newborn Screening shows that 1 of 12 South east Asians is a carrier of hemoglobin E, demonstrating a particular need t o outreach to these communities. The challenge of educating Southeast Asian populations include language barriers, differences in cultural and/or reli gious beliefs, geographic location, and unfamiliarity with and/or mistrust of Western health care systems. In addition, outreach workers must consider the great diversity of ethnicity, language, literacy, and education levels , and degree of acculturation to the US within the Asian/Southeast Asian gr oups. It is crucial before embarking on any outreach campaign to understand the history and make-up of the target audience, including ethnic minoritie s and dialects, to translate written materials into appropriate languages o r audio formats, and to have a group of trained interpreters for events. Ad ditionally, a continuing education model for the outreach/medical staff is important to maintain robust understanding of these diverse communities. Sp ecific strategies include using visual aids, medical professionals as autho rity figures, and bicultural high school and college students during presen tations. Finally, establishing trust and maintaining a continued presence i n communities are the most important aspects of a successful outreach campa ign.