Acculturation and Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in the Home Among Vietnamese Immigrants in Metropolitan Atlanta

This study represents the first effort to examine associations between various measures of acculturation and past 30-day secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among Vietnamese-Americans in metro-Atlanta, one of the areas with the highest number of Vietnamese-Americans in the U.S. Survey data of 96 Vietnamese-American nonsmoking adults attending health fairs/programs hosted by community-based organizations (2017-2018) were analyzed. Acculturation-related predictors included Vancouver Acculturation Index, language fluency, years in the U.S., and area-level proportion of Asian residents. The sample was an average 37.49 years old and 65.3% female; the average number of years in the U.S. was 18.17 years. Past 30-day SHS exposure was reported by 21.9%. In multiple logistic regressions, the only variable associated with SHS exposure was the number of years living in the U.S. [OR = 0.91, CI = (0.85-0.99), p = 0.02]. Newly-immigrated Vietnamese-Americans have increased SHS exposure risk. Education about smoke-free policies and harmful effects of SHS may benefit this population.