Davis R E
Millersville University, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Am Acad Nurse Pract. 2000 Mar;12(3):89-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2000.tb00173.x.
Although the immigration of Southeast Asians more than doubled over the past 20 years, much misunderstanding still persists regarding traditional, culture-bound health practices used by Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian families. The research presented in this paper explains one such traditional practice, that of cao gio. Cao gio, a dermabrasion therapy, is used extensively by many Southeast Asian women to treat a variety of illnesses. Health care providers do not appreciate this practice, however, to the extent that it is claimed to be a form of child abuse in some of the literature reviewed. A better understanding of the practice by those involved in the primary care of Southeast Asian families is not only necessary, but essential to avoid the mislabeling and misinterpretation of cultural, traditional health practices as child abuse. Lack of awareness of Southeast Asian cultural practices is quite significant, even though the United States experienced three major waves of Southeast Asian immigration during the past 20 years (Takeuchi, & Young, 1994). Over the past decade, the number of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees to the United States has increased 108% or by more than 1 million individuals (Fong, & Mokuau, 1994; Frank-Stromborg, 1991; Ja, & Aoki, 1993; Tran, 1991; U.S. Census Bureau, 1998). Yet, despite this, Southeast Asian individuals are poorly understood, and the literature reveals little about what health, illness and treatment constitute for these different cultures (Boston, 1992; Buchwald, Panwala, & Hooton, 1992). The ethnic groups that comprise Southeast Asians, formerly known as the Indochinese, include individuals from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (Catanzaro, & Moser, 1982; Chung, & Kagawa-Singer, 1993). The majority of these individuals are refugees who fled their countries due to political persecution (Toole, & Waldman, 1993). This paper describes the findings of a phenomenological research study completed among 19 Southeast Asian women regarding beliefs about health and health practices. The women discussed the practice of cao gio (phonetically pronounced as gow yaw) and its importance, effectiveness and significance to their cultures. The discussion relates the study findings to the debate and issues surrounding child abuse, the consequences of misreporting, as well as the consequences of cultural ignorance in the provision of health care to those of different cultural practices and beliefs, particularly those of Southeast Asian ethnicity.
尽管在过去20年里东南亚移民数量增加了一倍多，但越南、柬埔寨和老挝家庭所采用的传统的、与文化相关的健康习俗仍存在许多误解。本文所呈现的研究解释了一种这样的传统习俗——擦身法。擦身法是一种皮肤磨损疗法，被许多东南亚女性广泛用于治疗各种疾病。然而，医疗保健人员并不认可这种做法，在一些所查阅的文献中甚至声称这是一种虐待儿童的形式。对于参与东南亚家庭初级保健的人员来说，更好地了解这种习俗不仅是必要的，而且对于避免将文化传统健康习俗错误地贴上虐待儿童的标签并进行错误解读至关重要。尽管在过去20年里美国经历了三次东南亚移民潮（竹内和杨，1994年），但对东南亚文化习俗的认识仍然相当匮乏。在过去十年中，美国的东南亚移民和难民数量增加了108%，即增加了100多万人（方和莫夸，1994年；弗兰克 - 斯特伦伯格，1991年；贾和青木，1993年；陈，1991年；美国人口普查局，1998年）。然而，尽管如此，东南亚人仍未被充分了解，而且文献中关于这些不同文化中健康、疾病和治疗的构成几乎没有提及（波士顿，1992年；布赫瓦尔德、潘瓦拉和胡顿，1992年）。构成东南亚人的族群，以前被称为印度支那人，包括来自越南、柬埔寨和老挝的人（卡坦扎罗和莫泽，1982年；钟和川口 - 辛格，1993年）。这些人中的大多数是因政治迫害而逃离本国的难民（图勒和沃尔德曼，1993年）。本文描述了一项针对19名东南亚女性进行的关于健康观念和健康习俗的现象学研究的结果。这些女性讨论了擦身法（发音为gow yaw）及其对她们文化的重要性、有效性和意义。该讨论将研究结果与围绕虐待儿童的争论和问题、错误报告的后果以及在为具有不同文化习俗和信仰的人，特别是东南亚族群提供医疗保健时文化无知的后果联系起来。
