The Role of the Family in Daily Care for the Elderly in Changing Rural Vietnam

Abstract

This paper use datasets on the elderly in four provinces, including 307 el derly in Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai in 2017, 407 elderly in Ninh Binh and Tien Giang in 2016 of the project “Strengthening Social Engagement in Elderly Care in Changing Economic and Family Structure in Asia: Policy and Practical Dialogues between Local Communities in Vietnam and Japan.” This paper aims to evaluate roles of family members, especially of women in caring for the elderly and to explore the difficulties posed for contemporary families in relation to the roles of the community and the state. In particular, the paper will identify the forces influencing the way that each family member provides care for their elderly in the social and culture context of Vietnam. Our findings showed that families play a very important role in elderly care and that women still play crucial roles in caring for the elderly regardless of circumstances. The family is the most important support for the elderly in Vietnam during illness (spouses and children). Family economic con dition, health status, illness, sex, age, and working status have significant impacts on the health of the elderly. It is noted that taking care of the material life for the elderly is one of the burdens that the family faces, which raised need for a more comprehensive system of social security and social services for the elderly especially in the rural areas in the context of increasing migration and recent changes in family structure and functions.