Research on the living circumstances and state of health of the elderly Vietnamese refugees in Kobe and their situation regarding health and welfare support

2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 17592313
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Community health/Gerontological nurisng
• Research Institution: KOBE CITY COLLEGE OF NURSING
• Principal Investigator: TAKIJIRI Haruko KOBE CITY COLLEGE OF NURSING, Faculty of NURSING, ASSISTANT, 看護学部, 助手 (70382249)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): UEMOTO Masaharu KOBE CITY COLLEGE OF NURSING, Faculty of NURSING, PROFESSER, 看護学部, 教授 (90176644) ; MATSUBA Shoichi KOBE CITY COLLEGE OF NURSING, Faculty of NURSING, PROFESSER, 看護学部, 教授 (00295768) ; KAWAGICHI Yoshichika KYUSHU UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SCIENCE, LECTURER, 医学部保健学科, 講師 (00295776)
• Project Period (FY): 2005 – 2006
• Keywords: elderly people / social isolation / depressive tendency / lack of information / solid human resource / network / self-help

Research Abstract

1: Eighteen elderly Vietnamese refugees living in Kobe were structurally interviewed in their own language. The results indicate that (1) they have tendency to overexpect some support of their families and they do not seek for social support a lot; (2) language problems isolate them from Japanese society; (3) their depression levels are high, but their subjective health levels are low-two related conditions; (4) they find it difficult to obtain information regarding official health and welfare services due to language problems and their own distrust of the administration; (5) even though their present lifestyles are unsatisfactory, almost all wish to continue residing in Japanese society.
2: Twelve health and welfare personnel providing support to these refugees were interviewed semi-structurally regarding problems occurring during their daily activities. We categorized these problems into three groups-those predominantly concerning the Vietnamese, those concerning the interpreters, and those concerning the Japanese. Each group had problems at both personal and social levels. The problems of the Vietnamese concerned their limitations as receivers of support, hampered communication ability, lack of information, hidden aspects of social lives, inadequate knowledge of cultural behavior in Japan, and a closed Vietnamese community. The interpreter-related problems included irrelevant interpretation, inadequate interpreter capability, lack of official interpreters, and socially unstable position of the interpreter. The problems regarding the Japanese comprised emotional involvement, difficulty in direct communication, discrimination and prejudice, difference of opinions and attitudes among supporters, bureaucratic difficulties, and the lack of an official support system.
In conclusion, we suggest the following to enhance the self-reliance of the Vietnamese in order for them to better adapt to our society: (1) training and security regarding interpreters and other supporters, (2) occasional contact with people outside their community, (3) comprehendible communication of administrative information, and (4) network system formation between different groups of supporters and administrative offices.