Understanding the Community Supports and Service Landscape for Vietnamese Women in Calgary
About the Project
With funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Calgary Vietnamese Women’s Association (CAVWA) partnered with W21C, to survey the health and wellness needs of the Vietnamese women’s community in Calgary, Alberta. This mixed-methods project was a joint effort and involved continued collaboration with community over the course of the study.
Key phases of the project included (1) determining the most pressing health and wellness needs of the Vietnamese community; (2) surveying available resources in Calgary and aligning community needs with what is currently available; and (3) the creation of a knowledge translation plan, which consisted of activities CAVWA could pursue to disseminate study results to their community and advocate for critical service needs.
Project Team: Jessica Van Dyke, Nicola Quiggin, Levi Meldrum, Deena Gohar, Madelyn Knaub, Onyebuchi Omodon, Ana Mladenovic; Dr. Tanvir Turin Chowdhury, MD, PhD; Thao Nguyen, Hao Lam (CAVWA).
Impact
Priority areas identified through surveys included mental health services, dental services, easy access to family physicians, supports for mothers and children, and assistance caring for the elderly. Focus groups and interviews with community members revealed: (1) barriers persist to accessing and using health services in Calgary, though the desire to utilize these services is pronounced; (2) to fill service gaps, Vietnamese women engage in time-intensive care work; and (3) strategies are needed to help support and lessen the burden of care for Vietnamese women while simultaneously recognizing their meaningful contributions to the community.
Our findings from this research indicate the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate services to lessen the unpaid, often unrecognized, care work that Vietnamese women assume in the face of significant community needs. Furthermore, this project is a testament to the strength of grassroots organizations to advance research efforts within their own communities – creating knowledge of and for their community.
Services Provided
- Literature review
- Environmental scan
- Survey development and analysis
- Semi-structured interviews
- Focus groups
- Engagement with the community throughout the course of the project
- Provided a report back to funding agency as well as comprehensive report to client including a co-developed knowledge translation plan