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| | Report:Providing Culturally Appropriate Services in Maryland:
National Association of County Health Officials (NACHO) Demonstration ProjectThe Howard County project focused on the Hispanic and Asian populationsand how to make available to Hispanic, Korean, and Vietnamese women of child-bearingage prenatal care services within the Howard County Health Department. Theproject also sought to improve the Health Department"s ability tocommunicate with non-English speaking women. To achieve these goals, theHealth Department implemented two cultural awareness workshops in conjunctionwith the Foreign-born Information and Referral Network (FIRN), the NationalCoalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations, NACHO, anda local trainer. The workshops convened public health nurses to educatethem about the growing Asian and Hispanic populations and presented practicaldiscussions on health and cultural practices. As a result of the workshoppresentations and discussions, participants agreed to explore additionalfunding options for FIRN in order to increase their capability to keep upwith growing demand for its services and suggested that the Health Departmentinvest in and train its staff on a software program designed to translateconversations from English to Spanish and other foreign languages. The project's efforts were not limited to conducting workshops. FIRNstaff served as interpreters for Health Department staff and patients duringweekly clinics; the interpreters worked with Health Department staff toset appointment, coordinate outreach, complete patient forms, and arrangingaccess to post-partum and family planning services. The FIRN interpretersalso attended English-as-a-second-language classes to make presentationsin Spanish about the availability of prenatal care; they also distributedinformational fliers at Korean and Vietnamese ESL classes. |
