This just in from the Minnesota Department of Health: short videos about the vexatious issue of long COVID, translated into Spanish, Somali, Hmong and English, available here. These videos are a contribution to narrowing the disparities of long COVID on … Continue reading →
Take a look at this New York Times article — ‘I Don’t Want to Die’: Fighting Maternal Mortality Among Black Women — that describes the life-saving benefits of a St. Louis doula program. The article outlines the need for culturally specific care … Continue reading →
Usually we’re concerned with the vicissitudes of communicating across language barriers. But here’s another way to think about how you’re interacting with patients. Recently the New York Times explored a few of the unspoken pitfalls by which patients get a … Continue reading →
For would-be asylum seekers attempting to enter the US, the road got longer last week, as President Joe Biden announced new restrictions on people fleeing conditions in Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. Those who simply show up at the border … Continue reading →
So you’ve tested Covid positive but wonder what your next move should be. Here’s help — for free, and in English, Hmong, Spanish and Somali — for Minnesota residents who have shown Covid symptoms within the past five days. Download … Continue reading →
Here’s another rendering of the trauma that can underline a refugee’s life, this time describing the flight of “Amin” from Afghanistan as the Taliban takes over. The film, Flee, is a true story, rendered primarily in animation in part to … Continue reading →
How to interpret musical performance for the deaf? That’s the question taken up by the video above, where ASL interpreters transform a song for the hard of hearing. The nuts and bolts of rendering music in ways that will be … Continue reading →
Here’s a sweet, short video on how to keep your new baby safe, offered up in English, Arabic, Dari, Burmese, Karen, Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Nepali, Pashto, Swahili, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, French, Russian and Spanish. In simple, direct language, Who She Will Become … Continue reading →
Among the challenges for medical interpreters: how to convey bad news from providers to patients and their families. This hour-and-a-half webinar, presented by InterpretAmerica, takes on the sensitive issues involved. The recorded webinar is geared toward providing interpreters with tools … Continue reading →
How long do languages last? Already it’s not uncommon to hear children of immigrants admit they don’t speak their grandparents’ native tongue that well. What about their children and grandchildren? What does it take to save a language? Here’s a story … Continue reading →
With RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) clearing out local school classrooms, here are translated health information sheets that can help ESL patients get a better understanding of a disease with potentially dire outcomes for young children. Below find pieces from various … Continue reading →
As if being uprooted from your life isn’t tough enough for refugees and immigrants, there are more dangers once they arrive in the US. Among them: the scam artists waiting to take advantage. You can learn more about how to … Continue reading →
A recent story in the New York Times asked the question, Can Republicans and Democrats Find a Way Forward on Immigration? Reporter Eileen Sullivan observes that movement on this sticky issue will necessitate compromise, a quality Washington finds short supply. Three … Continue reading →
Among the consequences of the US collapse in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and the disintegration of Venezuela: an even longer wait for refugee status for people from other parts of the world. The New York Times recently reported that … Continue reading →
The New York Times explores another tragic dimension of the immigrant and refugee experience in this story, Missing the Home You Needed to Leave: There is a name for the specific type of grief that both refugees and migrants experience. … Continue reading →
True or False: Immigrants will take American jobs, lower wages, and especially hurt the poor. Get a straight answer to this and 14 other common myths about immigrants in the United States. The Cato Institute’s Alex Nowrasteh examines familiar complaints … Continue reading →
What happens when newly-arrived refugees get a year-long guaranteed income? An International Institute of Minnesota pilot project is aimed at getting an answer. Intended as a bridge to a stable life in their new home, the program will direct $750 … Continue reading →
After a lengthy hiatus, the Minnesota Immigrant and Refugee Health Network is back in business. The first meeting is set for 9:30-11 am, Tuesday, October 11. Register by October 10 here. You’ll get instructions on how to join the meeting … Continue reading →
dStuck in your search for translated health education materials for monkeypox? Here are resources to get you started when treating patients with limited English. From the Minnesota Department of Health: The basics covered in English, Hmong, Somali, Spanish. (Scroll to … Continue reading →
We’ve previously highlighted the excellent on-line news source, Sahan Journal, as a way to keep up with deep information on the immigrant experience in Minnesota. Here’s another way to make use of this resource as you look for ways to … Continue reading →
Wondered whether your health messages to refugees, migrants and immigrants are actually hitting the mark? Here’s a webinar sponsored by the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants where panelists will explain “cultural validation” — the practice of including … Continue reading →
With hundreds of Ukrainian refugees landing in Minnesota, here are directives on required screenings and a guide to resources from the Minnesota Department of Health. The MDH overview includes information on health screening for TB, immunizations, comprehensive health screenings, health … Continue reading →
Wondering where the latest refugees come from? The Minnesota Department of Health reports that of the 1,089 new arrivals in 2021, the overwhelming majority arrived from Afghanistan, followed by people from Congo, Somalia and Burma. The 2021 total is a … Continue reading →
Here’s a treasure chest of low literacy health information videos from Georgia State University. Developed with refugees and cultural community members, this toolkit features short videos in 14 languages that cover topics such as blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, nutrition, a … Continue reading →
Usually we are concerned here with how to use language more effectively to understand others. Here’s another dimension of the effort to see the world as others see it. In Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions, author Batja Mesquita explores … Continue reading →
As noted here before, this is a world in which languages are disappearing at a frantic rate. Linguists predict that 90 percent of languages will become obsolete over the next century. Zoe Yu explores this topic in a New York … Continue reading →
Just about everybody knows there’s a disparity in health outcomes between LEP patients and native English speakers. From Harvard researchers, here’s a partial explantation. In a recently published study in JAMA Pediatrics, the study team established that LEP patients are … Continue reading →
Looking for direction on talking points and answers to tough questions about the newly-approved COVID vaccines for kids six months and older? Here’s a package from the Public Health Communications Collaborative that features an updated children and vaccination toolkit, with shareable … Continue reading →
Here’s a new podcast that opens a window into Hmong culture in America. Hmonglish is hosted by Yia Vang — a James Beard-nominated chef — and Gia Vang, a former anchor at KARE-11. Interviewed recently by MPR Morning Edition host Cathy … Continue reading →
If you’re looking for a deep repository of COVID materials in translation, it’s worth making this Minnesota Department of Health site your first call for help. With fact sheets, videos, posters and signs, plus toolkits, it’s a solid collection of … Continue reading →
In a health care environment it’s not the same as offering in-person interpretation, but recent additions to the languages offered by Google Translate help make the world a smaller place. In ‘Allinllachu.’ Google Translate Adds Quechua to Its Platform, the … Continue reading →
What do refugees have that people in Missoula, Montana generally do not? For one thing, deep understanding of the food from their old homes. That treasure of knowledge and skill has been harnessed by a Missoula social service agency, United We Eat … Continue reading →
Here’s a two-hour training that can help you support people suffering from life’s many disorienting events. M Health Fairvew is sponsoring a Psychological First Aid webinar set for Wednesday, June 15, 1 – 3 p.m. that will give you tools … Continue reading →
Here’s a development in the DeafBlind world that New Yorker reporter Andrew Leland describes as a new language. In DeafBlind Communities May be Creating a New Language of Touch, Leland writes about ProTactile, a mode of communication that moves beyond … Continue reading →
President Joe Biden has promised that as many as 100,000 refugees from the war in Ukraine may be resettled in the US. But when and how: those are matters that remain blurry. For a rundown on the resettlement programs and … Continue reading →
There’s a world of personal pronouns beyond he/she/they. To name just a few: ze/zir/zirs ze/hir/hirs xe/xem/xyrs ey/em/eirs Here’s some help from LGBTQNation on navigating the sometimes tricky business of addressing patients and clients in the way they prefer. See Everything … Continue reading →
Generally people think of interpretation and translation as a way to solve problems. Here’s a story from St. Paul that proves just the opposite can be true as well. In Dialect dispute has St. Paul Hmong group calling for Dai … Continue reading →
Here’s an encouraging example of how to work alongside a Native community with public health messaging and support to dramatically boost the ranks of the vaccinated. In a recent CDC blog post, Stories from the Field: The White Earth Nation, … Continue reading →
As with so much else, when it comes to the impact of climate change, communities of color and the poor will be disproportionately affected by less access to clean air, safe drinking water and shelter, and nutritious food. Find out … Continue reading →
Here’s a nicely made video from Red Lake Hospital Indian Health Service that stresses specific Ojibwe cultural values as reasons to get vaccinated against COVID. Among a cast of elders, Dan King, President of Red Lake Nation College and Hereditary … Continue reading →
Here’s another tool you can use to urge parents to get their kids vaccinated. Five 5-11-year old Minnesotans who have finished the COVID vaccination series are eligible to enter a drawing for a $100,000 scholarship package at any public or … Continue reading →
The rapidly unfolding refugee crisis in Ukraine provoked a heartbreaking and fascinating story in the New York Times recently on the practicalities of flight. If you are forced to leave your home with little chance to plan or to take … Continue reading →
Need a translated overview of COVID at-home rapid tests for limited English speakers? Here’s a one-page Minnesota Department of Health info sheet in English and multiple other languages available for download. COVID-19 At-Home Rapid Test Overview iHealth (English).pdf COVID-19 At-Home … Continue reading →
When are medical interpreters simply conduits for information shared between providers and patients — and when do they have an obligation to intervene and advocate on the behalf of patients? The U.S. National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (NCIHC) came … Continue reading →
Having others understand the language you speak is one thing, but having your language survive in the face of globalization is another. That’s the subject that James Griffith takes on in his book, Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics … Continue reading →
Get an inside view on survival in a war-torn country, as Dr. Okechukwu (Okey) Ukaga, Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Minnesota Extension, appears at the Global Book Club’s virtual meeting to discuss … Continue reading →
N95 respirators are the gold standard for keeping COVID-19 at bay. But as with so many things, there’s a right way and a wrong way to use them. Here’s expert guidance from the CDC, in English, and translated into Simplified … Continue reading →
Here’s a story from the New York Times that’s equal parts romance and practicality. In A Love Language Spoken with Hands, a gay deaf man recounts his relationships with would-be paramours who promise that for him, they will learn sign … Continue reading →
Here’s another find via the excellent online immigrant/refugee news source, Sahan Journal. In this piece — After having a daughter, Reona Htoo couldn’t find children’s books in the Karen language. So she wrote one herself— St. Paul resident Htoo translates … Continue reading →
If you’ve spent time studying Old Testament iconography (and who hasn’t?), you may have wondered why Moses is often depicted with horns after having talked with God on Mount Sinai and descended with the ten commandments. Why the horns? It’s … Continue reading →