Interventive and Preventive Services for Vietnamese Chinese Refugees

Abstract

Providing services for refugee populations is often a difficult task. Many programs are based on short-term models that treat the crisis at hand yet fail to acknowledge the chronicity of problems inherent in the refugee situation. This article presents a service model based on findings from a survey of 301 Vietnamese Chinese refugees awaiting permanent resettlement. Results show that, although refugees were experiencing considerable stress, they were reluctant to seek professional help. EffectiTe intervention may increase when service models emerge from an examination of practice research, when they employ an ethnically sensitive prevention-based model, and when they emphasize a continuum of care from camp to community.