Study by Thai Community Development Center
“In October 1999, Thai Town was designated in the East Hollywood area by the City of Los Angeles as a result of the rigorous campaign mounted by the Thai Community Development Center that began in 1992. The fast growing Thai businesses in recent years brought an increasing number of Thai immigrants seeking employment or housing in this area. A majority of these Thai immigrants work in unskilled, low-wage jobs that provide no health insurance. The struggle to survive also forces them to ignore their health as a priority. Language and cultural barriers further compound the problem of inaccessibility of health information.
To improve their health status and the quality of life for Thai immigrants in the Thai Town area, the availability of high-quality and comprehensive health data on the Thai immigrant population is absolutely vital. Demographic and health-related data are essential for community health assessment, planning, program development, targeting health resources, and for evaluating changes in health and other factors that influence health over time. Unfortunately, the health data on the Thai immigrant sub population is virtually nonexistent. Therefore, the Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC) initiated the first health survey in Thai Town and its vicinity within a 1-mile radius with the following objectives:
- assessing the health status and health needs of Thai immigrants in the Thai Town area;
- identifying major health problems and key health indicators; and
- identifying subgroups of Thai immigrants who lack health care services.
The results will be used as baseline data, and help to guide improvements in community health. It will also be used to identify appropriate tar g e t indicators for the Campaign for Better Health program of Thai CDC. This report presents the findings and analyses of the first Thai Town health survey.”