Language Access Support (Karenni Health Navigator)

Project Title: Karenni Language Support

Timeline:

April 2023 - April 2024

Team Members:

Ana Sucaldito (Research Partner): A Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Wake Forest who is passionate about mitigating health inequities impacting Asian and Asian American communities.

Eishi Htoo (Healthcare and Insurance Partner): A WSSU graduate in Healthcare Management who intends to use her education to improve community health and assess community health issues.

Htay Meh (Project Manager): A UNCW graduate with a B.S. Public Health, and is passionate about working with underserved populations such as her Karenni people and reaching health equity.

Description:

In this project, we recruited 1) bilingual Karenni adults who are interested in providing Karenni-to-English interpretation services, 2) provided professional interpretation certification opportunities so they could interpret in healthcare, government, and educational offices professionally, and 3) developed and implemented additional training to train them as health navigators and educators in their community (ex. how to discuss and navigate mental health situations, how to read an insurance card and understand insurance bills).

Goals:

To increase language access, build community capacity, and support the Karenni community of Winston-Salem.

1) Increase the number of certified Karenni interpreters in North Carolina

2) Provide education on community health priorities (i.e., mental health, health insurance)

3) Build community capacity by harnessing existing strengths

Karenni Health Navigators:

We have health navigators who are certified interpreters (fluent in English and Karenni). These health navigators are essential for bridging the gaps and alleviating barriers impacting the community. They can drive a patient to their appointment, help with check-in, fill out documents as needed, interpret, check out, follow up, and provide resources and emotional support. We are looking for any individuals, organizations (i.e. hospitals, schools), agencies, etc. to connect with us if you are interested in using the Karenni Health Navigator program.

For more information, interest, or questions on the program or any part of the project, please contact, Htay Meh, hmeh1433@gmail.com

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Acknowledgments

The team members would like to thank North Carolina Asian Americans Together for providing the grant. Thank you, Phian Tran (NCAAT) for leading the ASAP Cohort. We would like to thank Liana Adrong, Executive Director of Montagnard Dega Association (MDA) for your connections and mentorship. We would like to thank the members of the Karenni Community of Winston Salem (KnC of WS) for your time and input. Lastly, we would like to thank the Wake Forest University School of Medicine for their support.