During the past several years, as development experts and theorists begin to explore the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on global communities and migration flows, factors in sustainable growth such as health, self-efficacy, and culture must be re-examined in many urban areas. The Vietnamese-American community in New Orleans, Louisiana is a unique enclave that first came to be in the decade after the end of the Vietnam War and has since grown into a multigenerational, multi-faith population with a legacy of full participation in the city's ongoing resilience efforts. This study evaluates via digital survey how experiences throughout the pandemic have affected Vietnamese perceptions of the ongoing value of Western allopathic healthcare practitioners. The researcher hypothesizes that Vietnamese-American trust in Western allopathic medicine will have decreased over the pandemic period, particularly on demographic lines of age and education within the community. The study finds that regardless of generation/age, the Vietnamese-American community has increased use of traditional osteopathic practices and remedies over the course of the pandemic and has generally decreased interest in allopathic health services. This decreased affinity does not appear to be correlated with group experiences of discomfort and anxiety in public due to discrimination. Additionally, it finds that though high value is placed by the target population on mental wellbeing, there is not yet equivalent investment in mental health services, and perhaps less knowledge about available services.
