• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2020

Purpose: This descriptive correlational study examined the acculturation, health literacy, and factors affecting the health literacy of Vietnamese and Chinese female marriage immigrants. Methods: The sample consisted of 90 Vietnamese and 89 Chinese female marriage immigrants who participated in Multicultural Family Support Centers' programs in metropolitan city A. The health literacy was measured by HLI-FMI (Health Literacy Index for Female Marriage Immigrants), acculturation was measured using the Acculturation Index for female marriage immigrants. Descriptive statistics, t-test, Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression were performed for data analysis. Results: The Chinese group (M=9.80±2.72) showed a significantly higher health literacy than the Vietnamese group (M=8.07±3.57). The factors affecting health literacy among Chinese were the length of residence (β=.442 p<.001), and adaptation to Korean culture (β=.381, p=.007). Conclusion: To develope graded education programs for promoting the health literacy of Chinese and Vietnamese female marriage immigrants, the length of residence can be considered. Continuously providing a support system to help them adapt to Korean culture can also have a positive effect on health literacy.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.64-77
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• 2017

This study was conducted to develop a nutritional education program based on the health belief model to improve nutritional status among Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. The education program was developed through literature review, focus group interviews, expert consultation, and pilot tests. Based on theoretical requirements and needs of beneficiaries, the education program was consisted of 16 sessions with nine topics: 'how to evaluate own dietary habits and nutritional status', 'health problems according to dietary habits and nutritional status', 'understanding six food groups', 'healthy eating plan', 'understanding food cultures of Korea and Vietnam', 'traditional and seasonal Korean foods', 'how to cook Korean food', 'nutrition management of family members', and 'practicing of healthy dietary life'. Program contents in each session consisted of activities that could induce outcome and value expectations, self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and barriers and cues to actions regarding dietary behavior. This nutritional education program based on the health belief model would be helpful to implement healthy diet behaviors in Vietnamese marriage immigrants and their families. Extension of these nutritional education programs to health centers and multicultural family support centers would improve the current poor nutrition status of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women. Further studies are needed to validate our program.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2007

This study looks into their process to wedding for Vietnamese brides and the motives of their marriage of whom are living in rural areas near an urban city, and the difficulties of their living in Korea. The mist significant motive of their marriage for the Vietnamese brides if financial reasons. They also think that Korean men are well-off and reliable and that the men's occupations or the age are any matter to be considered. As for the Korean men married to Vietnamese brides, the mist significant motive of their marriage is that Vietnamese brides are considered to be good-natured hardworking, sincere and respectful of the elderly. The wedding process usually takes place in 5-6 days through matchmaking, and the background of their Korean man gets inflated by their matchmaking agency. Some of the most significant difficulties for their life in Korea are due to the language barrier, their husbands' incompetence for a living, conceptions before the young brides get adjusted to Korean living. Most significant support networks are their husbands/families, and their neighbors, relatives and friends that can share Korean cultures and Vietnamese cultures with them. At last, the local communities should continuously offer them educational opportunities for Korean language and social/ cultural understanding.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.71-85
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• 2012

Marriage Immigrants have greater impact on local communities than migrant workers and foreign students, all the more because their children are relatively more important. Therefore, this study aims to inquire into the fundamental cause on the choice of residential location of marriage immigrants. Residential segregation is often considered to be one of the social problems that intensify locality of residential district. Although migrant workers and foreign students cannot freely decide their residential location at the outset, they could change their residence later on. However marriage immigrants are not free from the residential location choice continuously. The intentional(involuntary) residential segregation brings differential residence of marriage immigrants. The residential segregation of marriage immigrants is concerned with the close relationship of their ethnic background and the community characteristic with focus on Vietnamese and Filipino. The results of this study could be used basic guideline for community development policy for marriage immigrants.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.471-480
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• 2011

Our previous studies have demonstrated the inadequate nutritional status of Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. Major possible reasons include food insecurity due to economic problems as well as a lack of adjustment to unfamiliar Korean foods and limited access to Vietnamese foods; however, no study has investigated food insecurity among such intermarried couples. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in Korean-husband-Vietnamese-wife couples and to determine whether they exhibit an intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity. A cross-sectional analysis of the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea study was performed with 84 intermarried couples. Among the 84 Vietnamese immigrants, 48.8% and 41.7% had food insecurity due to economic problems and a lack of foods appealing to their appetite, respectively. There was a marked discrepancy in reporting food insecurity between Vietnamese wives (22.6-38.1%) and their Korean husbands (6.0-15.5%). Vietnamese wives were five and two times more food-insecure due to economic problems and no foods appealing to their appetite, respectively, than their Korean spouses. A follow-up study is needed to investigate the causes of this discrepancy and ways of reducing food insecurity among female marriage immigrants living in low-income, rural communities.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.427-434
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• 2016

This study aims to examine which factors affect marital satisfaction among Vietnamese marriage immigrants focusing on the demographic background, social support, self-efficacy, and acculturation related variables. Purposive sampling was conducted for the study and 201 Vietnamese marriage immigrants participated in the self-administered questionnaire survey through Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong area's social service agencies. The results of 4 step hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the age of woman's husband(${\beta}=-.18$, p<.01), social support(${\beta}=.61$, p<.001), and acculturative stress(${\beta}=-.24$, p<.001) impacted on the woman's marital satisfaction and these variables showed 58.6% explanatory power at the final regression model. Based on these results, social services and social policies for the enhancement of Vietnamese wive's marital satisfaction were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.518-531
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to develop and test a measurement for assessment of stress of female marriage immigrants in Korea. Methods: Forty four preliminary items were initially developed based on literature review and focus group interviews. Those items were evaluated by experts for content validity, resulting in six factors and 26 items. The 26 items were translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, and English by professional translators and were reviewed by native speakers of each language who are fluent in Korean. For testing validity and reliability, data were collected from 323 female marriage immigrants residing in five regions in Korea. Results: As a result of item analysis, 25 items were selected. Factor analysis yielded 21 items in four factors, including 1) household economic 2) parenting and discrimination 3) cultural and 4) emotional stressors, explaining 61.3% of the total variance of stress of female marriage immigrants in Korea. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was .903 for the overall instrument and .692-.892 for four factors. Conclusion: Measurement of stress for female marriage immigrants in Korea has high validity and reliability. Therefore, this measurement may be utilized for systematic assessment of stress and for identification of areas of support for female marriage immigrants in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.48 no.7
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

This study investigated how the characteristics of female international marriage immigrants, their husbands, their children, and their families affected their parenting self-efficacy, using a sample of 187 female international marriage immigrants, from China, the Philippines, or Vietnam, now living in Pusan and Gyungnam, Korea. We used questionnaires were based on the studies by Choe & Chung (2001), Shin (1997), Lee (1996), and Lee & Song (1991), and with the addition of demographic characteristics. Analysis results showed that the mother's parenting self-efficacy subscales correlated positively with mother's educational level, social support, and Korean language level; husband's educational level; and family income, and negatively with mother's depression, husband's age, and mother's acculturative stress. Multiple regressions indicated that husband's support was the strongest predictor of female international marriage immigrants' parenting self-efficacy.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.325-343
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to identify and describe the experiences of health care during pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum period for Vietnamese marriage immigrants. Methods: The participants were 15 Vietnamese married immigrant women who became pregnant and gave birth within the last five years. Data were collected by in-depth interview with Vietnamese women. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method of phenomenology. Results: Six theme clusters were extracted as follows: 'being left with no other option in loneliness and longing filled in a limited life', 'continued trials and errors amidst frustration and fear', 'silently following orders despite the quality of medical services that change with each medical care provider', 'compromise by selecting amidst confusion between the Korean way and the way at home', 'depending on family, who is the communication channel, but becoming disappointed', and 'finding the reason for existence and struggling by herself to become a mother amidst doubled confusion'. Conclusion: A program for effective empowerment of Vietnamese immigrant women should be developed. In addition multicultural family centered programs should be developed with emphasis on acceptance of women's culture, respect for her culture, and supports. Medical staffs and nurses should also improve culturally sensitive competence in order to provide care for immigrant women.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.319-326
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The immigrant population has grown considerably in South Korea since the early 1990s due to international marriages. Dietary changes in immigrants are an important issue, because they are related to health and disease patterns. This study was conducted to compare changes in dietary intake between baseline and follow-up periods. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two hundreds thirty three Vietnamese female married immigrants. Baseline data were collected during 2006-2009, and the follow-up data were collected during 2008 and 2010. Food consumption was assessed using a 1-day 24-hour recall. RESULTS: The amount of the total food consumed (P < 0.001) including that of cereals (P = 0.004), vegetables (P = 0.003), and fruits (P = 0.002) decreased at follow-up compared to that at baseline, whereas consumption of milk and dairy products increased (P = 0.004). Accordingly, the overall energy and nutrient intake decreased at follow-up, including carbohydrates (P = 0.012), protein (P = 0.021), fiber (P = 0.008), iron (P = 0.009), zinc (P = 0.006), and folate (P = 0.002). Among various anthropometric and biochemical variables, mean skeletal muscle mass decreased (P = 0.012), plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol increased, (P = 0.020) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased at follow-up (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A long-term follow-up study is needed to investigate the association between changes in food and nutrient intake and anthropometric and biochemical variables in these Vietnamese female marriage immigrants.