The changes of norms and the reconstruction of practices regarding older people living alone in Vietnamese villages: From an anthropological perspective

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12540
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto Sangyo University
• Principal Investigator: Kato Atsufumi 京都産業大学, 現代社会学部, 准教授 (60613750)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 宮沢 千尋 南山大学, 人文学部, 教授 (20319289) ; 比留間 洋一 静岡大学, 国際連携推進機構, 特任准教授 (30388219) ; 岩井 美佐紀 神田外語大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (80316819)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢者 / ケア / ベトナム / 東南アジア / 居住 / 介護

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Regarding the care regime for older people living alone in Vietnam, we found out following points: 1) the rotation of older people’s living places is widely observed; 2) the roles of daughters and daughters-in-law are critically important; 3) the state plays limited roles in care support for older people while the state emphasizes the responsibility of the family in elderly care; 4) the state also facilitates community care programs; but 5) the tradition of mutual care at the community level is not very strong and people who participate in community care programs are mainly persons who have had strong social capital in their community thus these programs are not very accessible for older people living alone; 6) the care arrangement based on money transfer among family members is widely observed and it is possible that contract-based care arrangement, together with utilizing private welfare facilities and domestic workers, will be prevailed in Vietnamese society.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

人類学的な実地調査によりベトナムの独居高齢者ケアをめぐる規範形成の動態と文化実践の再編の枠組みを把握できたことは、ベトナムにおける高齢者ケアに対する支援活動にとっても有用な指針を提供することになる。また、日本がベトナムの看護・介護人材を受け入れはじめているなか、本国のケアのありかたの実態、ケア人材の受け入れが本国のケアに与える影響を考えるうえでの重要な資料ともなる。ベトナムにとって喫緊の課題である高齢者ケアをめぐる動向を明らかにすることは、ベトナム社会をより深く理解する手がかりになるという点においてベトナム地域研究にとっても意義深いものである。