Huong Nguyen, PhD, MSW, MA

Teaching Faculty
A woman wearing a black shirt.

Contact

Office Address

School of Nursing, Office 6-179.
5-140 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States

Education

PhD, Social Work, University of Chicago, 2010

MA, Social Work, University of Chicago, 2006

MA, Communication, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2002

BA, Foreign Trade Economics, Hanoi Foreign Trade University, 2000

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Bio

Huong Nguyen, PhD, MSW, MA is a clinical associate professor in the School of Nursing and instructor at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, Dr. Nguyen was social work faculty at the University of South Carolina, where she was also the Global Carolina Regional Director for Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Born and raised in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen had diverse training in economics and mass communication before receiving her PhD in social work from the University of Chicago (2010). As the first person in post-war Vietnam with a doctoral degree in social work, Dr. Nguyen is an authoritative source in the emerging field of social work in Vietnam. Her research focuses on understanding the root causes of mental disorders and how to effectively treat them. For the last 10 years, she has been conducting extensive research at Buddhist temples in Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries, training rigorously with Buddhist masters. She aims to ultimately develop a therapy to treat mental health problems by bridging Western and Eastern wisdom. Dr. Nguyen is currently a principal investigator in a research project funded by the National Institutes of Health aiming at testing an intervention to reduce burden and stress for Vietnamese family caregivers of elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to being a scholar, Dr. Nguyen is an award-winning best-selling author of nine fictional and non-fictional books. She uses her creative works to raise public awareness about social problems and social justice. She has been awarded the Motivating Woman Award, Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Vietnamese Social Work by the Vietnamese Government, and other recognitions from the United States and Vietnam.

Research

Research Summary/Interests

Buddhism-based psychosocial interventions; Alzheimer's diseases and related dementias; Mind - Body Interventions; Mental Health and Spirituality; Global Mental Health; International Social Work; Buddhist Social Work; Buddhist Nursing.

Research Funding Grants

National Institutes of Health (1R01AG064688-01) 8/1/2019 – 3/31/2024

Title: Advancing Alzheimer’s family caregiving interventions and research capacity in Vietnam

Role: Co-PI

Publications

Authored books in print:

  1. Nguyen, H. (2021, under pen-name Phan Viet). The heart of void. Vietnamese Writers’ Association Press: Hanoi, Vietnam.
  2. Nguyen, H. (2017, under pen-name Phan Viet). Unhappiness is an asset (Volume 3: Coming Home). Vietnamese Writers’ Association Press: Hanoi, Vietnam.
  3. Nguyen, H. (2016, under pen-name Phan Viet). America, America and latest short stories. Vietnamese Writers’ Association Press: Hanoi, Vietnam.
  4. Nguyen, H. (2014, under pen-name Phan Viet). Unhappiness is an asset (Volume 2: Across America). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  5. Nguyen, H., & Phong Diep (2014, under pen-name Phan Viet). The rubric cube (Collection of short stories). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  6. Nguyen, H. (2013, under pen-name Phan Viet): Unhappiness is an asset (Volume 1: Alone in Europe). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  7. Khuat, T. H., Le, B. D., & Nguyen, H. (2010) (In Vietnamese and English). “Easy to joke about but hard to talk about: Sexuality in contemporary Vietnam”. Tri Thuc Publishing House: Hanoi, Vietnam.
  8. Nguyen, H. (2009, under pen-name Phan Viet). Nuoc My, nuoc My (America, America). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  9. Nguyen, H. (2008, under pen-name Phan Viet). Tieng Nguoi (Voices). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  10. Nguyen, H. (2005, under pen-name Phan Viet). Phu Phiem Truyen (The Book of Vanity). Tre Publishing House: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Refereed journal articles:

  1. Tran, D., Nguyen, H., Pham, T., et al. (2022). Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health in Vietnam (REACH VN): Exploratory Analyses of Outcomes of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Test the Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of a Family Dementia Caregiver Intervention in Vietnam. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(8), 878-882. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2022.04.011.
  2. Tran, D., Nguyen, H., et al. (2022). Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health in Vietnam (REACH VN): Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Test the Efficacy of a Family Dementia Caregiver Intervention in Vietnam. Trials, 23(1), 377. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06228-6
  3. Nguyen, H., Hinton, L., Nguyen, T., & Pham, D. (2021). “It’s extremely hard but it’s not a burden”: A qualitative study of family caregiving for people living with dementia in Vietnam. PLOS ONE.
  4. Nguyen, T., Levkoff, S. & Nguyen, H. (2021). “He is just getting old, you know”: The role of cultural and health beliefs in shaping the help-seeking process of family members caring for persons with dementia in Vietnam. Ethnicity and Health. Online first.
  5. Hinton, L., Nguyen, H. …. et al. (2021). Advancing family dementia caregiver interventions in low and middle-income countries: A pilot cluster randomized controlled trial of Resources for Advancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health in Vietnam (REACH VN). Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions, 6(1). DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12063
  6. Nguyen, H. (2020). An overview of health social work in the world and recommendations for Vietnam. Journal of Health and Development Studies, 4(1), 8-13.
  7. Nguyen, H., & Hinton, L. (2020). Applying Buddhism to enhance the skills and well-being of interventionists in a clinical trial to support family caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease in Vietnam. Social Work Journal of the National University of Mongolia, 2020 Special Issue: Integration of Diversity and Culturally Sensitive Practices in Social Work, 34-40.
  8. Nguyen, T.A., Pham, T., Dang, T. H., Nguyen, A. T., Pham, L. T., Crotty, M., Kurrle, S., Bui, Q. T., Nguyen, H., & Roughead, E. (2019). Towards the development of Vietnam National Dementia Plan: The first step of action. Australasian Journal of Ageing, 39(2), 137-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.12755
  9. Nguyen, H. (2018). Preserving multiple identities in an interconnected world through non-attachent to identities: A self case study of a Buddhist social work. The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, Special Edition on Vesak Celebrations Conference, 311-325.
  10. Nguyen, T. A., Nguyen, H., Thang, P., Hinton, L. (2018). A cluster randomized controlled trial to test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a family dementia caregiver intervention in Vietnam: the REACH VN study protocol. Medicine, 97:42. http://dx/doi.org/10.1097/MD.000000000012553
  11. Nguyen, B., Nguyen, H., Nguyen, T. H., Nguyen, T. T., Nguyen, P. A. et al. (2018). Introducing the American REACH-VA intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia and implications for family caregiver interventions in Vietnam. Vietnam Medical Journal, 64(468), 98-101.
  12. Nguyen, B. N., Nguyen, H., Nguyen, T. H., et al. (2018). Challenges of existing Vietnamese healthcare systems in providing care and sustaining community-based interventions for family caregivers of elderly people with dementia in Vietnam. Vietnam Medical Journal, 64(470), 158-161.
  13. Nguyen, H. (2018). Exploring perceptions of mental health clients and professionals about Buddhism-based therapies at mental health hospitals in Vietnam. Asia Social Work and Policy Review, 12(2), 94-107. https://doi.org/10.1111/aswp.12142
  14. Nguyen, H., Hardesty, M., Nguyen, T., & Shiu, S. (2018). Mental health in Vietnam and the move to incorporate social work: A mixed-methods study of staff perceptions and expectations. Social Work in Mental Health, 17(1), 23-47.
  15. Nguyen, M. Q. T., Nguyen, T. T., & Nguyen, H. (2017). Key concepts, activities, and latest trends in social work with aging populations in the United States and recommendations for Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(4), 451-464.
  16. Nguyen, H., Nguyen, T., & Farber, N. (2017). Vision, challenges and solutions in the development of professional social work in Vietnam: Perceptions of key stakeholders. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 5(3). doi:10.11114/ijsss.v5i3.2121
  17. Nguyen, H., & Nguyen, T. T. (2016). Optimistic but confused: Perceptions about the mission and core values of social work in Vietnam by Vietnamese policy-makers, social work faculty and practitioners. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 11(1), 53-65. doi: 10.1111/aswp.12113
  18. Nguyen, H. (2016a). From vanguards of revolution to vanguards of consumption: Changing conceptualization of adolescence in contemporary Vietnam and implications for adolescent/youth services. International Social Work. Online first. doi: 10.1177/0020872815618734
  19. Nguyen, H (2016b). Mental health care for elderly people at formal mental health systems and Buddhist temples in Vietnam: Making a case for mindful elder care in Vietnam. Ageing International, 41(4), 394-413. doi: 10.1007/s12126-016-9263-5
  20. Nguyen, H., Shiu, C., & Farber, N. (2016). Prevalence and factors associated with teen pregnancy in Vietnam: Results from two national surveys. Societies, 6(2), 17; doi:10.3390/soc6020017
  21. Nguyen, H. (2016c). Developing social work in hospital in Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(1), 12-26.
  22. Shiu, C.S., Voisin, D., Hardesty, M., Chen, W.T., Lo, Y., & Nguyen, H. (2016). A synthesis of 20 years of research on sexual risk-taking among Asian/Pacific Islander men who have sex with men in Western countries, American Journal of Men's Health, 10(3),170-80. doi: 10.1177/1557988314561489.
  23. Nguyen, H. (2015a). Practicing social work through fiction writing and journalism: Stories from Vietnam. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 2(1), 100-116.
  24. Nguyen, H., Shiu, C., & Hardesty, M. (2015) Extramarital sex among Vietnamese married men: Results of a survey in urban and rural areas of Northern and Southern Vietnam. Journal of Sex Research. Online first. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2015.1104287
  25. Nguyen, H. (2015b). Globalization, consumerism, and the emergence of teens in contemporary Vietnam. Journal of Social History, 49(1), 4-19. doi: 10.1093/jsh/shv009.
  26. Nguyen, H. (2015c). The conceptualization and representations of adolescence in Vietnamese media during the Reform era in Vietnam (1986 – 1995). Journal of Family History, 40(2), 172-194. doi: 10.1177/0363199015573401
  27. Berg, K., Shiu, C., & Nguyen, H. (2015). “Prevalence of victimization, and associated risk factors, impacting youth with disabilities in Vietnam: a population based study.” International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 14(2), 179-186. doi: 10.1515/ijdhd-2014-0007
  28. Nguyen, H., Shiu, C., & Peters, C. (2015). The relationship between Vietnamese youths’ access to health information and positive social capital with their level of HIV knowledge: Results from a national survey. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 10(1), 67-78. doi: 10.1080/17450128.2014.987192
  29. Nguyen, H. (2014a). Buddhism-based exorcism and spirit-calling as a form of healing for people with mental health problems: Stories from Vietnam. Journal of Social Work in Religion and Spirituality, 33(1), 33-48. doi:10.1080/15426432.2014.873648
  30. D’Andrade, A., & Nguyen, H. (2014). The relationship between parents’ use of specific services, treatment problems, and reunification with children placed in foster care. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 8(1), 51-69. doi:10.1080/15548732.2013.824399
  31. Nguyen, H. (2013a). Linking social work with Buddhist temples: Developing a model of mental health service delivery and treatment in Vietnam. British Journal of Social Work, 45(4), 1242-1258. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bct181
  32. Nguyen, H., Hardesty, M., & Khuat, T. H. (2013). “I am tired but if I don’t try to have sex, my wife will think I’ve been fooling around in the city”: Work, migration, and sex among Vietnamese migrant laborers. Journal of Sex Research, 50(6), 548-559. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2012.663419.
  33. Nguyen, H. (2012a). When development means political maturity: Adolescents as miniature communists in post-war, pre-reform Vietnam (1975-1986). Journal of the History of the Family, 17(2), 256-278. doi: 10.1080/1081602X.2012.715244
  34. Nguyen, H., Cohen, E., & Hines, A. (2012). Do peer relationships matter to Vietnamese adolescents’ and young adults’ development of identity? A working theory of identity development in a changing culture. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1501-1504. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.008
  35. Nguyen, H. (2012b). Linking Buddhist temples with social work: A new model for social service delivery in Vietnam. Vietnamese Sociological Review, 117(1), 23-35.
  36. Nguyen, H., Hardesty, M., & Khuat, T.H. (2011). In full swing? How do pendulum migrant laborers in Vietnam adjust their sexual views to their rural-to-urban swinging life? Culture, Health, & Sexuality, 13(10), 1193-1207. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2011.609909

Academic Interests and Focus

Academic Interests and Focus

Buddhism-based psychosocial interventions; Alzheimer's diseases and related dementias; Mental Health and Spirituality.