Health Beliefs and Practices
Health beliefs and practices vary greatly among the various ethnic groups in Vietnam. The most common belief, employed by urban and rural Vietnamese, is based on the premise that the body is composed of air, fire, water and earth, which have the characteristics cold, hot, wet and dry. To prevent sickness the Vietnamese use traditional herbal remedies, tonics, avoidance of excess, and massage to maintain good health. Procedures based on hot/cold physiology are most often done to treat colds, nausea, headaches, backaches and motion sickness, and include coining, cupping, moxibustion, and acupuncture (http://www.hslib.washington.edu/clinical. ethnomed/vietnamescp).
Coining: The vigorous rubbing of a coin (sometimes heated with oil) on the skin so as to create red welts on the affected area. This is thought to draw the sickness to the surface so that it may leave the body and symptoms will be relieved. This practice is used for the relief of nausea, dizziness, headache and cold. Awareness of this practice is imperative for any healthcare professional because it can easily be mistaken for child abuse, or serve as a major distraction from the real problem (Galanti, p. 123).
Cupping: A glass is heated up and then placed on the skin, creating a vacuum underneath the cup that raises the skin and leaves a small red welt. This practice is done frequently around the world as a way of relieving muscle ache, but is also believed to chase pain caused evil spirits out of the body, as well as to alleviate pain caused by cold air. This is another practice that may cause a health care professional to suspect child abuse, and become distracted from the issue at hand (Galanti, p. 124).
Moxibustion: Small circular burns are made over the torso, back and neck areas using burnable material or incense.
Acupuncture: This practice is probably the most common of the Vietnamese medical practices, and it is used widely in the United States. This method of sticking pins into the body is thought to relieve pain associated with muscle aches, arthritis, stroke and visual ailments (http://www.hslib.washington.edu/clinical. ethnomed/vietnamescp).
Pinching/Pulling-It is thought that by pinching and pulling the skin in the area of the pain, excessive air will be released and the pain will disappear. This method is most commonly done for headaches, in which case the skin covering the temples is pulled or the skin in-between the eyes is pulled, depending on where the headache is. This practice leaves bruises on the skin, and may create suspicion of child abuse (interview with Quy Aversa).
Cultural Diversity
