Little Saigon (Westminster), CALIFORNIA
Restoring Vietnamese Skin Health Through Awareness & Respect
Welcome. Chào mừng.
The Skin Dignity Project is a bilingual public health campaign founded by Blair H., a student, medical researcher and aspiring international dermatologist from Long Beach, California. After witnessing scabies firsthand during a trip to Vietnam, Blair spent over a year researching its dermatological causes, effects, and solutions in Vietnamese communities.
That work became the foundation of this initiative…
The Initiative
Scabies is the most common skin condition in Vietnam, yet it's one of the least discussed. Often misunderstood and highly stigmatized, this condition affects millions, and it doesn't stop at international borders.
Based in Little Saigon (Westminster, CA), home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam, this project is committed to:
1. Raising awareness about scabies and how it spreads
2. Offering clear, respectful, bilingual education materials
3. Reducing stigma and restoring dignity through community partnership
Why Scabies? Why Vietnam?
In 2022, Blair traveled to Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi. She saw children, elders, and families living with painful skin infections (especially scabies) but no one talked about it. The stigma was real. The resources were few. And scabies is the most common skin condition in Vietnam.
When she returned home to Long Beach, Blair realized this wasn’t just a Vietnam issue. Right next door in Little Saigon (Westminster, CA), the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam, many families live in similar close living conditions, where scabies can easily spread unnoticed.
Blair was determined to positively impact this community. So she got to work…
Vietnamese Scabies Research Paper
Blair spent over a year researching scabies outbreaks in Vietnam alongside, a medical student at Emory University. Her paper's title is “Scabies in Low Income Asian countries, specifically Vietnam; Full review: pathophysiology, prevalence, diagnosis, prevention, environment, and treatment outbreak." It is scheduled for publication in Fall 2025.
It examines the scabies trends, causes, treatments and risks of scabies in Vietnam. But Blair didn’t want that research to sit on a shelf. She wanted to use it to restore health, and dignity, here at home in the Los Angeles area Vietnamese community.
Link to full research paper: Here
The Skin Dignity Project IMPACT
in the Little Saigon (Westminster, CA) Community:
