Commentary: The Hmong and their Perceptions about Physical Disabilities: An Overview and Review of Selected Literature

The Hmong are one of the fastest growing populations in Central California. Hmong refugee families arrived in Fresno in the late 1970s facing a variety of challenges regarding their traditional health beliefs and the customs of mainstream Western biomedicine. Differing and sometimes conflicting perceptions about physical disabilities have resulted in painful misunderstandings between Hmong families and Western health care providers. The aim of this paper is to present a review of some of the Hmong health belief literature concerning physical disabilities in children. It also includes commentaries from those who work with the Hmong families of physically disabled children.