Article
Healthy habits of Hmong students by disability
Disability and Health Journal
(2017)
Abstract
Background: Immigrants are at risk of being obese from obesogenic environments and face factors which
limit physical activity and healthy eating. While Hmong immigrants acknowledge the importance of
healthy eating and physical activity, to our knowledge no studies have looked at health promoting behaviors
among Hmong adolescents with and without disabilities.
Objective: In this paper, we seek to provide baseline data about physical activity and healthy eating
among Hmong high school students with disabilities in Minnesota.
Methods: We used data from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey. The study included responses from
1,824 Hmong high school students. We compared physical activity and healthy eating of Hmong high
school students by disability status.
Results: Approximately 13% of Hmong had a disability (n ¼ 239). A greater percentage of Hmong high
school students with disabilities reported zero days of 60 min of physical activity (20.5% vs 14.8%,
p < 0.10) and zero days participation in sports teams outside of school (69.0% vs. 64.3%, p < 0.10).
Compared to Hmong students without disabilities, a significantly lower percentage of Hmong students
with disabilities reported not receiving free/reduced lunch (66.5% vs 73.1%, p < 0.05) and significantly
more likely to skip meals because their family did not have enough money (14.2% vs 9.7%, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Adolescent Hmong with disabilities encounter both cultural and disability specific factors
which could contribute to poorer health promoting behaviors. This study shines light on the need for
social policy that promotes disability inclusive, culturally specific health promotion information and
advocacy for immigrant youth with disabilities and their families in schools and communities.
Keywords
- Hmong,
- disability
Disciplines
Publication Date
2017
Citation Information
Pa Der Vang. "Healthy habits of Hmong students by disability" Disability and Health Journal (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/pader-vang/6/