ERIC Number: EJ1258965
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Aug
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0741-7136
EISSN: N/A
Health Literacy among Bhutanese Adult Refugees in the United States: The Sociocultural Approach
Chao, Xia; Kang, Boping
Adult Education Quarterly: A Journal of Research and Theory, v70 n3 p258-276 Aug 2020
Drawing on the accounts of literacy as socioculturally situated, this 2-year ethnography explores Bhutanese adult refugees' health literacy at the intersection of their culture and experiences. This study illustrates the multifaceted relations between health literacy, culture, integration, and empowerment. This study indicates health literacy as sociocultural practice. Health literacy is mediated by Bhutanese adults' oral tradition, language, education, and experiences over time. This study highlights health literacy as sociocultural participation--it resides in individuals' community engagement. Rather than simply describing their limited functional health literacy as "a big problem," this study recognizes Bhutanese adults' ability to take action to improve personal and community health. This study challenges the deficit view rooted in adult literacy. It advocates integrating health literacy into adult literacy education to raise public awareness that health literacy promotes social justice, human rights, and world citizenship. Implications for a bottom-up approach to health literacy education are provided.
Descriptors: Health, Refugees, Cultural Influences, Correlation, Sociocultural Patterns, Public Health, Adult Literacy, Social Justice, Civil Rights, Citizenship, Literacy Education, Consciousness Raising, Foreign Countries, Ethnography, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Profiles, Social Environment, Medicine, Folk Culture, Asian Culture, Language Proficiency, Oral Tradition
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Bhutan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A