ELDERLY CARE IN VIETNAM: CURRENT NEEDS AND DEVELOPMENT ORIENTTIONS A presentation at ASIA VISION 21 CONFERENCE Harvard University Asia Centre, 1-3 May 2013 ELDERLY CARE IN VIETNAM: CURRENT NEEDS AND DEVELOPMENT ORIENTTIONS Prof. Nguyen Duc Hinh, MD, PhD – Hanoi Medical University President Le Van Hoi, MD, MSc, PhD – EVIPNet Vietnam Coordinator

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS % Increasing rapidly; Currently 10% of population (85 M); Majority living in rural areas, where more are disadvantaged; Less physical & emotional support from family members; More rely on family rather than social sources of economic support; Fig. 1 - Proportion of people aged 60+

Fig. 3 - RLE by wealth quintiles ELDERLY HEALTH STATUS Fig. 2 - 95%CI of EQ-5D index Fig. 3 - RLE by wealth quintiles Improves but decreases in the most disadvantaged groups; Varies substantially according to socioeconomic factors; Inequalities in health are wider over time; 3

Fig. 4 - Distribution of elderly by ADL index NEED OF CARE Fig. 4 - Distribution of elderly by ADL index Unmet need of daily care; More demanded in disadvantaged groups; Gap between needs and affordability of care is large; 4

NEED OF CARE MT: mobile team; DC: day care centre; NC: Nursing centre 1: free of charge; 2: less than cost; 3: full cost Fig. 5 - Willingness to use care services Fig. 6 - Willingness to pay care services Community-based care will be used and partly paid for by elderly and family if it is provided by government and associations; Additional supports are needed for accessing enough care; Family is still a main source of care supports, but there is a trend of expansion of care from families to a social network; 5

DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATIONS A social network for community-based long-term elderly care should be developed; The determinants of elderly health and need of care should be addressed by appropriate social and health policies; Building capacity for health professional and informal caregivers is necessary; Additional support for the most vulnerable elderly groups is essential; Development of community-based models of elderly care is should be encouraged; 6

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