Khảo sát vấn Đề quan tâm chăm sóc cha mẹ của giới trẻ việt nam liên hệ với sự quan tâm chăm sóc cha mẹ của người nhật và một số Đề xuất cho việt nam Ở giai Đoạn dân số già
Research problem and rationale for the study
Vietnamese people aged 60 or older make up 11.86% in 2019 according to the latest statistics released in July 2021 from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam Vietnam's population is aging and it is aging faster than anyone could imagine It is predicted that Vietnam will enter the aged population phase in 2036, which is only 14 years away from now (General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 2021) According to statistics released by the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the percentage of people aged 65 and up in Japan is 10.3% in 1985 and 12.1% in 1990 [Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, 2020] Therefore, they are roughly thirty years ahead of Vietnam in the aspect of dealing with the consequences of an aging population Naturally, as a country that is also affected by Chinese culture, Confucianism, and Buddhism, Vietnam should observe Japan closely and learn from its mistakes to better prepare for population aging
One of the most important aspects of preparing for population aging is improving elderly care, which must take each country's culture into account Filial piety as a concept is presented in both Vietnam and Japan It is one of the most valuable moral values as it is the link connecting family members for many generations Withstanding the impact of the globalization process, information explosion, and the internet, as a part of social consciousness, filial piety has changed to better fit the current society This change strongly affects all members of the family,
2 especially the elderly since they are the main recipient of care and treatment from their children or grandchildren – the youth Furthermore, while there is an abundance of studies related to filial piety of one particular country, there are only very few studies that try to compare two countries in this regard
To raise awareness related to this issue and help Vietnam better prepare for the upcoming aged population phase, the researcher wants to conduct this study thoroughly By investigating the link between Vietnamese youth perception and the Japanese's perception of elderly care to see if there is any resemblance, it can be determined whether Vietnam will encounter problems that Japan had already overcome in the past and whether Japan's solution to their aging problem will work on future Vietnam Additionally, this is also a good opportunity to identify the similarities and differences in the family care culture of the two countries so that Vietnamese and Japanese can better understand each other.
Aims and objectives
The researcher aims to gain additional insights into the Vietnamese youth's perception of the care for their parents and to find out any similarities or differences to that of the Japanese population Moreover, through this study data, some pieces of advice about how Vietnamese can better care for their parents in the upcoming aged population phase that Vietnam will soon face These objectives can be achieved by answering the following questions:
1 What is the Vietnamese youth’s perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general?
2 Is Vietnamese’s youth perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general affected by the concept of filial piety and family position?
3 How is Vietnamese youth's perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general any different from the Japanese's view on it?
4 With the Japanese as an example, how can Vietnam improve its care for the elderly?
Significance of the study
The researcher expected to gain an overview of the way Vietnamese youth want to treat their parents as well as problems with the situation of healthcare for the elderly in Vietnam The final result will be one of the helpful sources for interested researchers and healthcare workers in their pursuit of finding the best way to care for the Vietnamese elderly that is compatible with Vietnam's sense of values In addition, the findings can enhance the awareness about the situation of healthcare for the elderly in Vietnam in general.
Scope of the study
Whilst the impact of filial piety as a concept on the Vietnam population as a whole has been well researched, its impact on the young adult of the country specifically still haven't been documented
The scope of the study is limited to recruiting at least 150 volunteers between the ages of 16 and 29 who will be contacted using social media This recruitment period will last for a maximum of 1 month and will end when either 150 volunteers have been recruited or 1 month has passed Each volunteer to the study will be asked to complete a short questionnaire to evaluate their perception of the care for their parents and the elderly care.
Organization of the study
This study is divided into the following chapters:
In chapter 1, the introduction of the study, concerning its rationale, aims, research questions, scope, and significance of the study, is presented
Chapter 2 brings about a literature review, ideas from different bodies of literature are presented and synthesized so that an ideology that guides this research and a more thorough view of related concepts and theories can be established
The researcher continues to examine the methodology applied to this research and the steps to gather data in chapter 3
In chapter 4, the researcher interprets the collected data to reach answers to the research questions
Chapter 5 delves into the conclusion of the study, including a summary of the research, recommendations, limitations, and suggestions for further research
This chapter lays the theoretical foundation for the research by critically reviewing literature about filial piety, population aging in Japan and Vietnam, and its influence on elderly care in both these countries.
Literature review
Literature related to filial piety and its effect on elderly care
Filial piety as a concept started as a part of Confucianism, which originated in China Therefore, it is understandable that most of the studies relating to filial piety have some connection to Chinese society The Chinese Constitution states: “Parents have the duty to rear and educate their minor children, and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents” (Article 49 of the 1982 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China) Values that have been held dear for thousands of years are difficult to let go of Even in modern Chinese civilizations, filial piety is a basic and essential principle that governs the interactions between parents and children Although filial piety is not unique to the Chinese—it is seen in Judaism and Buddhism, among other religions—it is an important aspect of the Chinese family The virtue of filial piety will be crucial to any debate about long-term care for the elderly as long as the family remains an important institution in Chinese societies, fulfilling duties such as providing care and support for its members
"Taking care of elderly family members is one of the major themes of Confucian philosophy and traditional norms in Chinese culture," Li and Tracy said in a 1999 study on family support for rural elderly in China Other scholars who have looked at the care of the elderly in Asian communities affected by Chinese culture have reached similar results Chow (2001) discovered, for example, that in today's Hong Kong, filial piety is not entirely forgotten and most Hong Kong residents still
6 see it as a value that they should treasure and practice in ways that they deem fit In Taiwan, filial piety instills in youngsters a sense of responsibility to care for their aging parents and relatives Kim and Maeda (2001) observed that most "long-term health care has been provided by the family, with institutionalized care reserved as the last resort" in Japan and South Korea, two Asian societies historically influenced by Chinese culture and the Confucian tradition of family support for the elderly
"While American caregivers cited love and affection more frequently, Korean caregivers emphasized that their motivations were primarily based on filial responsibility, strongly influenced by the Confucian sentiment," Chee and Levkoff
(2001) stated in a research on caregiving in South Korea "As Korean society has become increasingly industrialized, the paradigm is in transition… our findings suggest that currently Koreans look for change with respect to the traditional family values and independence in later life as well" they said In other words, while Koreans are motivated by a sense of filial piety to help their aging parents, they are simultaneously seeking solutions to alleviate the constraints of their responsibilities
" Another factor that may promote need-based transfers is filial piety, which is common to all East Asian family systems based on Confucian values," Lee and Xiao
(1998) wrote in a summary of the findings of a nationwide study on children's support of older parents in urban and rural China They discovered, however, that while children typically felt obligated to help their parents, the action was only performed when the parents were in need "Elderly parents who had invested in their children received more financial support from their children than parents who had not," the researchers discovered
In a 1993 study on the changing norms and expectations of the care for the elderly in Japan, Ogawa, N., and Retherford, R D analyzed changes in norms of filial care for elderly parents and expectations of old-age support from children, based on a series of national surveys of currently married women of reproductive age in Japan
Their findings suggest that norms of filial care for elderly parents were fairly constant from 1963 until 1986 when a major weakening of norms began The sudden normative shift after 1986 is conceptualized as a rapid diffusion process, which appears to have been triggered by government efforts to shift some of the burdens of caring for the elderly back to families In contrast to norms of care for elderly parents, expectations of old-age support from children have declined steadily over time, adapting continuously to changes in underlying socio-economic and demographic conditions Overall, the findings suggest that government efforts to shift the burden of caring for the elderly back to families may not be successful
In a poll conducted in 2003 by the Cabinet Office of Japan, more than 3500 Japanese expressed their opinions and views on the issue of elderly care in general and care for family members in particular The data from their survey suggests that most Japanese still prefer giving care and being cared for by their family member This might have been due to the effect of the concept of filial piety However, there is also a sizeable amount of people who choose to "stay in a nursing care insurance facility" to "have professional care" and not to occupy too much of their family's time This result isn't particularly surprising given the fact that the Japanese usually doesn't want to disturb other when possible and they tend to prioritize the benefits of others in their group first Interestingly, the percentage of people who think that "it is natural for children to take care of their parents" decreased, and the percentage of those who answered that "children do not necessarily have to take care of their parents by themselves" increased
The 2018 study about the change of filial piety in Vietnam and Korea is one of the few research papers using a comparative method between Vietnam and other countries in the study of filial piety The author Cao, B T H presented a conclusion about how in both Vietnam and Korea, there is a lack of awareness in taking care of grandparents and parents In addition, the author also said that the perception of taking
8 care of parents of both Vietnamese and Koreans has been found to shift from the feeling of "honor" to the feeling of having a burden
In a 2020 study on the changes in expression of filial piety in modern Vietnam, Pham, K T reported that there has been a change in awareness and behavior of children towards their parents today in the aspect of caring for parents If in the past children had to directly or personally take care of their parents when they were sick or old, nowadays taking care of parents has been commercialized with the establishment of specialized institutions for the elderly and the service of hiring maids or professional caregivers Hiring a maid to take care of parents is also a "fashionable trend" for families with good economic conditions This change in terms of ideas is generally welcomed since it can help the elderly to get their basic needs fulfilled However, nothing can replace children emotionally and psychologically Many children rely on domestic helpers, so they rarely visit their parents, making them self- conscious, inferior, and lonely, leading to mental breakdown and negative health effects.
Literature related to population aging and its effect on elderly care and
In a 2000 study about population aging and its effect on health policy, P Lloyd-Sherlock has talked about key issues arising from population aging It begins with a brief overview of international trends in demographic aging and considers the health needs of different groups of older people It sketches out some policy implications, paying particular attention to the financing and organization of health services In this study, they have found out that “rapid population ageing does not inevitably lead to higher health spending.” However, they stated that a particular challenge would be the organization and financing of long-term care services for the aged, as these are likely to be considerably more expensive than any other area of health care While in
9 low-income and middle-income countries, “it is widely assumed that institutionalized care is not a policy priority, since traditional household and community structures are still able to play this role.”, P Lloyd-Sherlock has also found evidence on how the traditional role of families and communities in providing care to elders is now breaking down (Mugabe, 1994; Apt, 1996; Redondo, 1990)
In a 2011 study on the care of older people in Japan, M Hayashi debunked myths and stated the realities of family care in Japan as its constraints have a long history and more devastating repercussions than is commonly recognized As the author has found out, by the 1960s, these limitations had been recognized, but succeeding governments continued to use supplemental and means-tested measures to alter cultural norms and customs, notably filial piety and family duty for elderly care As a result, flagship public residential care was limited to the elderly who lacked financial resources and family assistance, and it remained stigmatized, with Obasuteyama (literally "granny-dump mountain") connoting family neglect, filial piety failure, abandonment, and humiliation Two more characteristics have been noted by M Hayashi as they also resulted in minor but significant social issues To begin with, certain forms of family 'care' involved neglect and abuse, resulting in
"caregiving hell" and even killing Second, significant numbers of 'abandoned' elderly persons have been essentially residents in hospitals since the 1970s, often with minimal need for medical treatment, compounding “social hospitalization” The post-
2000 comprehensive Long-Term Care Insurance system (LTCI) in Japan represented a significant movement away from family care and toward the socialization of care as part of a social compact Its growth, as well as soaring spending and funding expenses, prompted reforms in 2005, redistributing care obligations from the state to the family
At the end of the study, the author emphasized that “Neither compulsory care insurance nor voluntary mutual-help schemes are panaceas, yet both have valuable roles in alleviating social problems, and actually require state support.”
In a 2018 study on the model of care for the elderly in America and Vietnam,
Vo T and Pham V T have analyzed the psycho-physiological characteristics of the elderly and supportive policies and activities for the elderly in Vietnam In their study, they have found out that in the field of elderly care, there are three major problems Vietnam is currently facing, namely: the elderly increase rapidly; Many elderly people live at the poverty and near-poor levels; and Most elderly people have poor health, tend to live alone because the support from family and relatives is gradually shrinking (Nguyen & Pham, 2015) They also stated that although there are numerous implemented policies, laws, decrees, programs, and activities to care for the elderly in the family and community, however, care activities for the elderly in Vietnam still have many limitations and inadequacies as care for the elderly has not been paid enough attention to
In a 2016 study on the increasing effect of an aging population on healthcare,
A Garza talked about how the healthcare system will change in response to the sudden surge of elderly people in the incoming years They have stated that by 2030, over 60% of the "baby boomers" generation (born between 1946 and 1964) will be managing more than 1 chronic condition These conditions, combined with a patient’s level of disability, will raise the healthcare system's budgetary needs.
Literature analysis
While the literature of each country on elderly care is abundant, there is still insufficient literature that compares an aging country and an aged country to find out if the aging country can learn anything from the latter in the aspect of elderly care Additionally, although it is known that Chinese culture, particularly Confucianism, affected countries such as Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan but there are very few studies that compared the effect of the concept of filial piety on elderly care in these countries
The youth's perception on matters regarding elderly care is also not a really touched on subject Most of the studies that involve the elderly and the youth are related to the perception of the former on the latter or vice versa In the researcher’s opinion, this should not be the case because the youth is the one who will likely take care of their parents in the future so their opinion on the matter should be studied to make changes if there are any problems related to their viewpoint regarding elderly care
Many studies on elderly care and population aging use secondary data sources and qualitative approaches to explore their topic The qualitative approach is more subjective, as it “produces the thick description of participants’ feelings, opinions, and experiences; and interprets the meanings of their actions" (Denzin, 1989) Although the qualitative method generally is more suitable for this kind of topic, the researcher believes that the quantitative method could bring out more recent changes by collecting newer data.
Theoretical framework
Filial Piety
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Filial piety is the “reverence for parents considered in Chinese ethics the prime virtue and the basis of all right human relations”
Dong and Xu (2016) defined filial piety as: “a traditional Confucian virtue in Chinese culture, which refers to a prominent, family-centred cultural value that adjusts children’s attitudes and behaviours toward their parents to ensure parental well-being” (p 46) According to Lum, Yan, Ho, Shum, Wong, Lau, and Wang (2015), for millennia, Confucian philosophy has acted as a guiding principle in molding
12 family structure and intergenerational interactions between parents and children by defining their duties and connections through a complex value system
Within the ethics of Confucian, Chinese Buddhist, and Taoist (Kohn, L., 2004), filial piety (Chinese: 孝, xiào) is a virtue of respecting parents, elders, and ancestors Fundamentally, filial piety requires one to be good towards parents, to take care of one's parents; act properly in and out of the household to establish a good reputation for parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, support, and courtesy; to secure male heirs and uphold fraternity between brothers; to advise one's parents wisely, including discouraging them from moral injustice; show sadness to parents' illness and death, and to bury and make sacrifices to them after their death.
Population aging
Population aging is an increasing median age in a population due to declining fertility rates and rising life expectancy The majority of nations are seeing increased life expectancy and an aging population, trends that began in wealthy countries but have already spread to almost all developing countries The number of people above the age of 65 is at an all-time high in human history According to the United Nations, the rate of population aging in the twenty-first century will outpace that of the preceding century (Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division
- United Nations, 2015) Countries differ greatly in terms of the degree and rate of aging, and the United Nations predicts that populations who started aging later would have less time to adjust to the consequences (Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division - United Nations, 2015) Population aging is prevalent around the world and is most advanced in the most developed nations, but it is expanding quicker in less developed regions, implying that older people will become increasingly concentrated in these areas (Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division - United Nations, 2013) The Oxford Institute of Population
Ageing, on the other hand, determined that population aging has slowed significantly in Europe and would have the biggest future influence in Asia, particularly given Asia is in stage five of the demographic transition model (considerably low birth rate and low death rate) (Shaban, Mostafa, 2020)
The percentage of the population above the age of 60 is used by the United Nations to determine how old a country is In developed countries, a line set at 65 years old is preferred because that is when most individuals may collect social security benefits Thus, a country is considered "aging" when the proportion of persons aged
65 and up surpasses 7%, "aged" when it exceeds 14%, and "super-aged" when it exceeds 20% Both cut-offs, however, are arbitrary since they ignore how healthy and functional the so-called old are Other definitions are also being used, such as median age or the old-age dependency ratio, which is the ratio of elder dependents (those over
64) to the working-age population (those between 15 and 64).
Elderly care
Elderly care, also known as eldercare or aged care in some areas of the English- speaking world, is a service that caters to the needs and requirements of elderly persons According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Eldercare is defined as “the care of older adults and especially the care of an older parent by a son or daughter” Assisted living, adult day care, long-term care, nursing homes (also known as residential care), hospice care, and home care are all included Because of a broad array of elderly care needs and cultural perspectives on the elderly, it encompasses a variety of practices and institutions For instance, in many Asian nations where younger generations are often the ones who care for the old, government-run senior care is rarely employed
Elderly care focuses on the social and personal needs of older persons who want to age gracefully while still needing support with everyday activities and healthcare Much of the care provided to the elderly is unpaid (CBO, 2004)
2.3.4 The interaction between the concept of filial piety and population aging to elderly care
The concept of filial piety as a whole seems to complicate elderly care since each generation's view on it is different Older generations are prone to stick to a more traditional version with an emphasis on direct care and obedience Younger generations tend to be more open-minded and view filial piety as only its essence: “to care for parents” and nothing more Therefore, the things that young people do to take care of the elderly may not please the previous generation because of this difference in viewpoint
Population aging as predicted will place a heavy burden on healthcare in general and elderly care in particular as the elderly require much more medical help than other age groups Countries will have to pay more attention to the healthcare industry to be able to accommodate the increase of people aged 60 and up
This chapter provides detailed information about the methodological issues including the descriptions and justifications of research design, participants, data collection, and analysis procedures for the research question “What is the Vietnamese youth’s perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general?”.
Research design
This study follows a quantitative approach with positivism as its research philosophy The quantitative approach shows its strengths in reliability as it can collect data by mass survey (Balsley, 1970) as well as the unbiasedness as it
“eliminates or minimizes subjectivity of "judgement" (Kealey & Protheroe, 1996, 141-165) In quantitative studies, positivism is frequently the underpinning research philosophy It asserts that the researcher has the ability to objectively examine reality and that there is only one reality that exists independently of the observer (Larrain, Jorge, 1979) The deductive research approach looks at a well-known idea or phenomenon to see if it holds up under different circumstances It should be emphasized that “the deductive approach follows the path of logic most closely The reasoning starts with a theory and leads to a new hypothesis This hypothesis is put to the test by confronting it with observations that either lead to a confirmation or a rejection of the hypothesis” (Snieder, R & Larner, K., 2009).
Target population
As this study wants to find out about Vietnamese youth's perception of elderly care, the target population obviously would be the youth of Vietnam More specifically, Vietnamese people from the age of 16 to the age of 29 will be the target population of this study.
Time horizon and sampling method
All of the data collected in the survey and presented within this study is cross- sectional by nature, which means they were all collected at one point in time Due to practical constraints for an undergraduate thesis, the researcher doesn't have enough time to adopt a longitudinal approach, which would require data to be collected over multiple years
During the survey collection, the researcher chose convenience sampling as their sampling strategy While random sampling techniques are much better suited for this type of study, because Vietnam is still under the influence of Covid-19, convenience sampling provides a much safer way to collect data Despite the huge disadvantage of convenience sampling, which stems from the inability to draw statistically significant conclusions from the data collected, it can still be useful in gathering a variety of attitudes and opinions and in identifying tentative hypotheses that can be tested more rigorously in future research.
Data collection instrument: Questionnaire
The researcher utilized a questionnaire to effectively collect beliefs and opinions (Griffee, 2012), which provides an overview of how Vietnamese care for their parents and their views on elderly care as a whole The questionnaire was developed by the researcher after carefully considering each aspect of elderly care and Vietnam's cultural difference
At the beginning of the questionnaire is the researcher's brief introduction In the end, there is a thank-you note The questionnaire is divided into three major sections (A, B, and C) with 17 items 6 questions in section A served to obtain some background knowledge about the participants Section B includes 9 questions served to obtain information about each participant's perception of caring for parents, grandparents, and the elderly in general Section C, which only has 2 questions, is for
17 collecting participants’ ideas and opinions on how to improve care for the elderly in Vietnam
A4 Living situation now and in the future Item 4
A5 Elderly in the family Item 5
A6 Position within the family Item 6
Perception of caring for parents, grandparents, and the elderly in general
B1 Interest and knowledge about population ageing Item 7
B2 Worry about parents’ and grandparents’ health Item 8
B3 Frequency of active contact with parents and grandparents Item 9
B4 Understanding of parents’ and grandparents’ life Item 10
Reasons for not having a good understanding of parents' and grandparents' life
B6 Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents Item 12
B7 Opinion on nursing home Item 13
B8 Work and direct care balance Item 14
B9 Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents Item 15
Ideas and opinions on how to improve care for the elderly in
C1 Opinion on Vietnam’s preparation for the upcoming aged population phase Item 16
C2 Ideas and suggestions to improve care for the elderly in Vietnam Item 17
Procedure of data collection
The questionnaire was recreated as a survey through the help of the online survey administration software Google Form After that, the survey link was distributed through the researcher's network of connections and through social media to find volunteers for the study Each volunteer to the study was asked to complete the survey and send it
The sample size is limited to recruiting at least 150 volunteers between the ages of 16 and 29 This recruitment period will last for a maximum of 1 month and will end when either 150 volunteers have been recruited or 1 month has passed
The data that the volunteers send were automatically compiled within a spreadsheet program called Google Sheet After getting a satisfactory sample size, the researcher retrieved the data from Google Sheet and transferred it into Microsoft Excel for further analysis
The retrieved data consisted of almost 200 entries but after careful examination, only 151 entries are valid Invalid, duplicate, and incomplete entries are removed.
Data analysis strategy
The researcher started by encoding the retrieved data into the right format for the analysis software SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS is chosen for its strength of being able to research a huge range of data and information for better analysis and evaluation Each question in the questionnaire was categorized into its own variable column within SPSS
The data were first analyzed by using the "Descriptive statistic" option within SPSS to determine the frequency of each variable Descriptive statistics provide simple summaries of the sample and the observations that have been made These summaries may either form the basis of the initial description of the data as part of a more extensive statistical analysis, or they may be sufficient in and of themselves for a particular investigation
Afterward, two variables that might have an interrelation relationship in the data are then selected and analyzed by using the “Crosstab” option within SPSS to create a contingency table (also known as a cross-tabulation or crosstab) This type of table is in a matrix format that displays the (multivariate) frequency distribution of the variables They provide a basic picture of the interrelation between two variables and can help find interactions between them
Results
Section A: Background knowledge about participant
Answers to the question: “Which of the following age groups do you belong to?”
Age group Number of answers Percent
The number of participants who answered that they are in the 20-24 age group is the highest with 130 answers, making up approximately 86% of the total survey population The lowest answered age group is the 16-19 age group with only 8 answers, equal to about 5% of the total survey population Between these two age groups is the 25-29 age group, with 13 answers, equal to about 9%
Answers to the question: “What is your gender?”
Of the two genders, "Female" got the highest number of answers with 126 answers, making up about 83% of the total survey population The male participants only make up approximately 17% of the total survey population, with 25 answers
Answers to the question: “Where were you born and raised?”
Inner areas of major cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang,
Outer areas of major cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang,
When asked, "Where were you born and raised?", over half of the survey population answers “Inner areas of major cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang, Bien Hoa)” (51%) The number of participants who answers that they are from “Outer areas of major cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Nang, Bien Hoa)” and “Urban area” are equal (16%) With almost the same number of answers, “Countryside” makes up 15% of the survey population The number of people who chose “Mountainous areas, remote areas" is only 2, making up one percent of the survey population
(A4) Living situation now and in the future
Answers to the question: “Do you live with your parents?”
Living situation Planning to stay with parents in the future
Stay independent / Plan to move out in the future
Note The number outside of the parentheses is the number of answers, the number inside of the parentheses is the percentage of the number of answers in relation to the whole survey population
About 68% of the participant is currently living with their parents Approximately 41% of the total survey population will live independently from their parents in the future
Answers to the question: "Are there any elderly people in your family (people over
60 years old)? (Including spouse's family, if any)”
The majority of the participants’ family has elderly people (73%)
Answers to the question: “Are you the eldest child in the family? If not, is your spouse the oldest child?”
Position within the family Number of answers Percent
I am/My spouse is the eldest child 83 55
I am not/Neither I nor my spouse is the eldest child
Over half of the participants stated that they are or their spouse is the eldest child in the family (55%)
Section B: Perception of caring for parents, grandparents, and the elderly
(B1) Interest and knowledge about population aging
Answers to the question: “Did you know about the information "Vietnam is in the aging population phase and will soon enter the aging population phase by 2036" before this survey?”
When asked if the participant know beforehand about how Vietnam is in a population aging state and will soon enter the aged population phase by 2036, most of the participants said they have known one or both of this information (35% said they know both, 30% said they know only one) The number of participants who said they don't know about this information is low (35%) and most of them (22%) said that they are interested in knowing the information
(B2) Worry about parents’ and grandparents’ health
Know both information Know only one of the above informationDon't know but is interested Don't know and don't care
Answers to the question: “Have you ever been worried about your grandparents and parents not being able to take care of themselves and need your help?”
Frequency Number of answers Percent
When asked “Have you ever been worried about your grandparents and parents not being able to take care of themselves and need your help?”, the majority of the survey population said that they regularly or sometimes worried about it (“sometimes” 52% + “regularly” 40%) Only nine percent answered that they rarely or never worried about their parents or grandparents (“rarely” 7% + “never” 1%)
(B3) Frequency of active contact with parents and grandparents
Answers to the question: “Recently, have you actively contacted or talked to your grandparents and parents?”
Frequency Number of answers Percent
The majority of the survey population answered that they have frequently and actively contact their grandparents and parents (“regularly” 50% + “sometimes” 40%) There is about 10% of participants rarely or never actively contact their parents or grandparents
(B4) Understanding of parents’ and grandparents’ life
Answers to the question "Do you have a good understanding of the life situation (economic situation, physical and mental health) of your grandparents and parents?”
State of understanding Number of answers Percent
The majority of the survey population (98%) has at least somewhat of an understanding of their parents' and grandparents' life situations Only 40% of the participants can confidently say that they have a good understanding of their parents' and grandparents' life situations
(B5) Reasons for not having a good understanding of parents' and grandparents' life
Answers to the question: “What is the reason why you have not been able to grasp information about your parents and grandparents' life well? If you are sure that you know their situation well, please select "I know the situation" (Multi-select multiple choice question)”
“I do not actively ask about the above things when chatting" is the most popular answer with 73 instances The "I don't feel the need to know” category has the least
I don't have much time to chat (due to school, work, )
I do not actively ask about the above things when chatting
I feel embarrassed when I have to ask about these issues.
I don't feel the need to know
I think that a vague understanding is enough
28 number of answers with only 12 instances 43 participants stated that they have already a great understanding, which makes up 28% of the survey population
(B6) Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents
Answers to the question: "What do you think about the point of view "It is natural that children to take care of their parents"?”
The answer “Agree, children must directly take care of their parents” was chosen the most with 88 instances (58%) 51 participants stated that the statement provided was not necessarily true and 12 participants chose to stay neutral
Cross-referencing answers from (B6) Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents & (A6) Position within the family
Agree, children must directly take care of their parents
Disagree, children are not necessarily direct caregivers of their parents.
Disagree, depending on family circumstances, whether children have to take care of their parents or not.
I don't think either side is rightNumber of answers
Note Measurement unit is “Number of answers”
When cross-referencing with the answers from section A part (A6) Position in the family, about 60% of the participants who are or whose spouse is the eldest child in their respective family think that children should directly care for their parents About 45% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child disagreed or chose to stay neutral with the statement
Answers to the question: “What do you think about the statement "Putting parents into a nursing home is unfilial"?”
Agree, children must directly take care of their parents
Disagree, children are not necessarily direct caregivers of their parents.
Disagree, depending on family circumstances, whether children have to take care of their parents or not.
I don't think either side is right
I am / My spouse is the eldest child 50 10 17 6
I am not / Neither I nor my spouse is the eldest child 38 11 13 6
Most of the participants disagreed or at least somewhat opposed to the presented statement ("Neutral, inclined to disagree" 57% + “Disagree” 15%)
Cross-referencing answers from (B7) Opinion on nursing home & (A6) Position within the family
Note Measurement unit is “Number of answers”
Agree Neutral, inclined to agree
I am / My spouse is the eldest child 11 51 16 5
I am not / Neither I nor my spouse is the eldest child 11 35 19 3
When cross-referencing with the answers from section A part (A6) Position in the family, approximately 75% of the participants who are or whose spouse is the eldest child in their respective family disagreed or somewhat opposed the statement
"Putting parents into a nursing home is unfilial" About 68% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child disagreed or somewhat opposed the presented statement
(B8) Work and direct care balance
Answers to the question: “With your current job, do you think you can stay at home to directly take care of your parents and grandparents when they are sick or too old to take care of themselves?”
Over half of the population can adjust their work schedule to directly care for their parent when needed (60%)
Cross-referencing answers from (B8) Work and direct care balance and (A4) Living situation now and in the future
No, my work takes too much time Yes, I can arrange my work schedule
Note Measurement unit is “Number of answers”
When cross-referencing with the answers from section A part (4) Living situation now and in the future, 33% of the participants who chose "Yes, I can arrange my work schedule" don't plan to stay with parents in the future
(B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents
Answers for the question: “After reading the above information, please answer the question objectively: “Where do you want your parents, grandparents to receive care and treatment when they are too old to take care of themself?””
No, my work takes too much time Yes, I can arrange my work schedule Not currently living with and will not live with parents in the future
Currently not living with and planning to live with parents in the future
Currently living with and planning to move out in the future
Currently living with and will continue in the future
When being presented with information related to the strengths and weaknesses of nursing homes & specialized institutions for elderly persons and information about the price of hiring a housekeeper and a professional caregiver, most participants still choose to have their parents and grandparents receive treatment and care at home (81%) 40% of the survey population chose to directly care for their parent at home
Cross-referencing answers from (B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents & (B8) Work and direct care balance
Note Measurement unit is “Number of answers”
At home, directly by me
In nursing homes, specialized institutions
At home, with a house keeper
At home, with a professional caregiver Number of answers
At home, directly by me
In nursing homes, specialized institutions
At home, with a house keeper
At home, with a professional caregiver Yes, I can arrange my work schedule 48 12 20 11
No, my work takes too much time 13 16 23 8
When cross-referencing with the answers from section B part (8) Work and direct care balance, 34% of participants who can arrange their work schedule to care for their parent want outside helps (hiring a housekeeper and/or professional caregiver) and 13% changed their mind and want their parents to get treatment and care at a nursing home or a specialized institution Twenty-two percent of the participants who can't arrange their work schedule changed their minds and want to directly care for their parents at home
Cross-referencing answers from (B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents & (A6) Position within the family
Note Measurement unit is “Number of answers”
When cross-referencing with the answers from section A part (A6) Position in the family, 83% of the participants who are or whose spouse is the eldest child in their respective family want their parents to get treatment and care in their own home
At home, directly by me
In nursing homes, specialized institutions
At home, with a house keeper
At home, with a professional caregiver
I am / My spouse is the eldest child 34 14 25 10
I am not / Neither me or my spouse is the eldest child 27 14 18 9
About 73% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child disagreed and want their parents to get treatment and care in their own home.
Section C: Ideas and opinions on how to improve care for the elderly in
(C1) Opinion on Vietnam’s preparation for the upcoming aged population phase
Answers to the question: “After reading the above information, do you feel that Vietnam is still unprepared for the upcoming aged population phase?”
When presented with information about how there are not enough specialized institutions for elderly people in Vietnam and the lack of training for nursing home staff, the majority of the survey population (94%) agree with the statement “Vietnam is still too unprepared for the upcoming aged population phase”
(C2) Ideas and suggestions to improve care for the elderly in Vietnam Table 10
Answers to the question: “What do you think local authorities should do to improve
36 the elderly care situation in Vietnam to prepare for the coming aging population? (Multi-select multiple choice question)”
Ideas and suggestions Number of answers
Support the development of more long-term care services at home (hiring nurses/maids, ) 114
Support to develop and further refine services offered in existing aged care facilities 113
Improve service quality in health facilities in areas with a large population of elderly people 111
Build more specialized care facilities for the elderly 96
Support the development of services specifically for the elderly
(Food delivery, Transportation, Emergency Hotline, ) 87 Encourage exchanges between the elderly communities 86
Support the development and dissemination of devices that improve the lives of the elderly 81
Building a group home for the elderly (Where the elderly with dementia can live together) 75
Financial support for households in need of long-term care for the elderly 72
Set up consultation desks and advice systems on long-term care issues 69
Encourage and promote the renovation and construction of structurally appropriate homes for aged care 62
Encourage the establishment and support of private long-term care insurance plans 60
The top 3 most chosen suggestions for improving elderly care in Vietnam are
“Support the development of more long-term care services at home (hiring nurses/maids, )”, “Support to develop and further refine services offered in existing aged care facilities” and “Improve service quality in health facilities in areas with a large population of elderly people”.
Discussion
Key findings
Overall, the data suggest that the Vietnamese youth have a great interest in population aging in Vietnam and their perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general is somewhat still in line with the concept of filial piety
The data also suggest that the perception of the Vietnamese youth has similarities with the Japanese on the aspect of elderly care.
Findings related to the research question: “What is the Vietnamese youth’s perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general?”
(B1) Interest and knowledge about population aging It is well within the expectation that most of the participants know about or at least care for information related to Vietnam population aging Population aging in Vietnam as a topic has been covered by every kind of media at least one and even if the participants didn't use social media or read the newspaper, it is undeniably obvious that we live in a time with more old people than ever before
(B3) Frequency of active contact with parents and grandparents As modern technologies keep getting better and better, contacting loved ones has never been easier According to the National Survey on Elderly in Vietnam conducted by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in 2019, 93% of the elderly in rural areas and 97% in urban areas have mobile phones; On average, 4 out of 10 elderly people use smartphones This is reflected in the results as about 90% of the survey population often communicate with their parents or grandparents actively This also goes to show that the majority of Vietnamese youth consciously take the initiative to care for loved ones
(B4) Understanding of parents’ and grandparents’ life & (B5) Reasons for not having a good understanding of parents' and grandparents' life Since the frequency of contact with parents and grandparents is high (Table 7), it is not out of expectation that the majority of the survey population has at least somewhat of an understanding of their parents' and grandparents' life situations However, only 40% of the participants can confidently say that they have a good understanding This suggests that although the participants know and care about their family, they just care about it at an acceptable level, not to a dedicated extent As for why this is, the top 3 answers are: "I don't have much time to chat (due to school, work, )”, “I do not actively ask about the above things when chatting”, “I feel embarrassed when I have to ask about these issues.” (Figure 4) It can be deduced that aside from not having time to chat, participants tend to not get into their parents’ and grandparents' personal information too much due to embarrassment or a feeling of difficulty I believe that this may stem from the fact that Vietnamese traditional parenting techniques and communication between parents and children are mostly one-sided Vietnamese parents often ask their children to do something or ask them about their day but almost no one talks about their child about their day or work life because of the feeling that children are too small to understand these things This kind of one-sided conversation tends to persist even when the child in question enters adulthood
(B6) Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents While the number of participants who agreed with the statement “It is natural that children to take care of their parents” is higher than the number of participants who disagreed or stayed neutral to the statement, the difference between the two is only 16% (Figure
5) This is in line with what Pham, K T (2020) has found in her research, which is about how hiring housekeepers and maids to care for parents and grandparents has been a trend for families with good economic conditions This is understandable since hiring a housekeeper and maid is a good option for children who want their parents to be taken care of at home but don't have enough time
(B7) Opinion on nursing home Seventy-two percent of the survey participants disagreed with or at least somewhat opposed to the statement "Putting parents into a nursing home is unfilial" (Figure 7) This may be due to the youth's more open-minded way of thinking toward nursing homes and specialized institutions as a whole Most of the stigmatized reputation comes from older Vietnamese who grew up with traditional values, which hold direct care for parents in much higher regard
(B8) Work and direct care balance According to figure 9, 60% of the survey population have the flexibility of arranging their work schedule to care for parents when they are sick or too old to take care of themselves Interestingly, 33% of the participants who chose "Yes, I can arrange my work schedule" don't plan to stay with their parents in the future This means that the participants would sacrifice their time to commute from their workplace to their parents' home for care and treatment
(B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents
When being presented with information related to the strengths and weaknesses of nursing homes & specialized institutions for elderly people and information about the price of hiring a housekeeper and a professional caregiver, the majority of the
40 population still wants their parents and grandparents to receive treatment and care at home (Figure 11) However, some participants seem to have a change of mind when being properly informed of the price for each service While in figure 5 58% of participants think that children must directly care for their parents, in figure 11, the number is reduced to only 40% In figure 12, about 22% of the participants who can't arrange their work schedule changed their minds and want to directly care for their parents at home
Interestingly, the information about the strengths and weaknesses of nursing homes & specialized institutions for elderly persons may have made participants reconsider their options According to figure 12, 13% of participants who can arrange their work schedule to care for their parents changed their minds and want their parents to get treatment and care at a nursing home or a specialized institution.
Findings related to the research question: “Is Vietnamese’s youth
perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general affected by the concept of filial piety and family position?”
(B2) Worry about parents’ and grandparents’ health As Vietnam is a country with a deeply rooted filial piety concept, Vietnamese people tend to think about their families and want to care for them and this fact seems to stay true even when it comes to the youth of Vietnam The majority of the survey population said that they regularly or sometimes worried about their parents’ and grandparents’ health as seen in table 6
(B6) Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents While the data aren’t overwhelmingly in favor of agreement, as 58% percent of the participants agreed with the statement “It is natural that children to take care of their parents” as seen in figure 5, this result is still in line with the traditional concept of filial piety According to figure 6, about 60% of the participants who are or whose
41 spouse is the eldest child in their respective family think that children should directly care for their parents but only 55% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child agreed The difference is there but it is not great enough to make an educated guess about the effect of family position on the Vietnamese youth's opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents
(B7) Opinion on nursing home Even though over half of the participants agreed that children must directly take care of their parents (figure 7), almost three- fourths of the survey population think that it is not unfilial to put parents into a nursing home This data suggests that although filial piety as a concept does affect the youth, they still keep their open-mindedness and respect for other people's decisions According to figure 8, about 25% of the participants who are or whose spouse is the eldest child in their respective family think that it is unfilial to put parents in a nursing home but only 32% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child think the same This goes against my hypothesis about how the eldest child would oppose the idea of putting parents into a nursing home more
(B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents
Most participants still choose to have their parents and grandparents receive treatment and care at home but half of those who do want outside help (such as hiring maids or professional caregivers) However, filial piety would require the child in question to directly take care of their parents Therefore, using outside help would be a sneaky walk-around that helps the youth to save time and energy while still letting their parents be cared for at home It can be deduced that the value of filial piety has adapted to fit more with outside factors, retaining its original meaning but isn't as strict as the traditional version
Approximately 83% of the participants who are or whose spouse is the eldest child in their respective family want their parents to get treatment and care in their
42 own home and about 73% of the participants who are or whose spouse is NOT the eldest child want the same (Figure 13) The difference is 10% in favor of the eldest child group of participants, which mean family position only slightly affected how participant choose the place for care and treatment for their parents and grandparents
4.2.4 Findings related to the research question: “How is Vietnamese youth's perception of caring for parents in particular and the elderly in general any different from Japanese’s view on it?”
In this section, the researcher will compare data from this study with the data from the survey about “Public Opinion Poll on Elderly Care” (Japanese: “高齢者介 護に関する世論調査”) which was conducted in 2003 by the Cabinet Office of Japan
(B2) Worry about parents’ and grandparents’ health Only nine percent of this study’s survey population (Table 6) rarely or never worried about their parents and grandparents' health as opposed to 25.3% of the Japanese in the “Public Opinion Poll on Elderly Care” survey
(B6) Opinion on directly taking care of parents and grandparents While the majority of both surveys chose “children must directly take care of their parents”, the percentage of Vietnamese youth who choose that answer is more than that of Japanese About 58% of this survey participants (figure 5) and 48.6% of the Japanese survey population chose that answer
(B9) Choice of place for care and treatment for parents and grandparents
When asked where they would like their family members to receive care if they were to become bedridden or have dementia in the “Public Opinion Poll on Elderly Care” survey, 57.7% of the Japanese respondents answered that they would like their family members to receive care at home (parents' home or their own home) as much as possible, while 23.9% answered that they would like their family members to be
43 admitted to long-term care insurance facilities such as special nursing homes for the elderly and health facilities for the elderly In this study version of the survey, most participants choose to have their parents and grandparents receive treatment and care at home (81%) as seen in figure 11
It can be seen that the Japanese view on elderly care and the Vietnamese youth's view on it is quite similar as the data trend of each question seems to be the same However, as a country with a more deeply rooted filial piety concept, the Vietnamese youth tend to choose options that resemble the traditional view on filial piety more It can be understood from this that the view on the aspect of elderly care between the two groups is largely the same.
Findings related to the research question: “With the Japanese as an example, how can Vietnam improve its care for the elderly?”
example, how can Vietnam improve its care for the elderly?”
(C1) Opinion on Vietnam’s preparation for the upcoming aged population phase As seen in Table 9, most of the survey population think that Vietnam is still unprepared for the upcoming aged population phase, which is alarming since it could come as soon as 2036 As has been found out in the 2011 study on the care of older people in Japan by Hayashi M., disregarding the importance of preparing for an aging population will lead to many social problems such as "social hospitalization" and
(C2) Ideas and suggestions to improve care for the elderly in Vietnam
When asked to select ideas and suggestions to help improve care for the elderly in Vietnam, most of the participants chose these 5 answers: "Support the development of more long-term care services at home (hiring nurses/maids, )", "Support to develop and further refine services offered in existing aged care facilities", "Improve service quality in health facilities in areas with a large population of elderly people",
"Build more specialized care facilities for the elderly", "Support the development of
44 services specifically for the elderly (Food delivery, Transportation, Emergency Hotline, )" (Table 10)
To summarize, the survey population wants the local authorities to increase the number of existing specialized care for the elderly, improve their service quality and provide better options for long-term care services at home The suggestions chosen are all very straightforward and practical, but to be able to implement them or not is another issue entirely Since this issue hasn't been paid attention to enough, it will certainly be difficult to convince the local authority to invest capital in developing and improving forms of elderly care
Japan launched a comprehensive Long-Term Care Insurance program in 2000, which is widely regarded as one of the most generous and comprehensive health insurance programs in the world The insurance covers professionally planned and government-approved care plans that give the elderly a variety of options, such as assisted-living facilities, home care, and food shopping help In 2011, the Japanese government continued to strengthen care plans by implementing more integrated healthcare, preventative care, and long-term care models As learned in the 2011 study on the care of older people in Japan by Hayashi M., this is still not the perfect solution as it placed a heavy economic burden on Japan Vietnam should see this as a cautionary tale and start to prepare for the incoming demographic change as soon as possible
This chapter will conclude the study by summarizing the key research findings concerning the research aims and questions and discussing the value and contribution thereof It will also review the limitations of the study and propose opportunities for future research.
Summary of the study
This study aims to gain additional insights into the Vietnamese youth's perception of the care for their parents The results indicate that the Vietnamese youth view the care for their parents in particular and the elderly in general in a much more open-minded way of thinking The concept of filial piety is present within their consciousness and decision-making process but it is not the deciding factor when talking about elderly care Options about directly caring for parents and wanting to have parents be cared for at home are all dominantly chosen by the survey population However, the statement “Putting parents into a nursing home is unfilial” is mostly disagreed with Further findings suggest that the youth of Vietnam consciously care for their family as the frequency of contact and understanding of parents' life situations is generally high for the majority of participants Attempt to find the link between family position and the youth's perception of elderly care have been made but no conclusive results have been found
The second aim of this study is to compare the Vietnamese youth's perception and the Japanese perception of elderly care to find out if there are any resemblances or differences The data suggest that the Japanese and the Vietnamese youth's views on senior care are substantially similar The only difference is that as citizens of a country with a more firmly entrenched filial piety idea, the Vietnamese youth, on the other hand, are more likely to pick solutions that fit a conventional concept of filial piety
The third aim of the study is to find out ways to improve Vietnam’s care for the elderly As the data suggests, Vietnam is still largely unprepared for the upcoming aged population phase and needs to pay more attention to this issue so as not to suffer the same consequences as Japan did The survey population has also proposed that the local authorities should increase the number of existing specialized care for the elderly, improve their service quality and provide better options for long-term care services at home.
Implications of the findings
Through using quantitative methods, the researcher was able to get an overview of the perception of the Vietnamese youth on the care for their parents in particular and the elderly in general Furthermore, the researcher has compared the data collected with data on the same topic from a Japanese survey, finding out that the viewpoint of the Japanese and the Vietnamese youth are largely similar This helps the intercultural communication between Vietnam and Japan in terms of family culture and helps people of the two countries understand each other better The results collected from this study will also help bridge the gap in literature since there is little to no literature which compares two countries and focuses on the perspective of the youth
But most importantly, this study is conducted to bring awareness to the alarming problem that Vietnam will soon face, which is related to the steady increase of people over the age of 60 Vietnam already has an aging population and will soon enter the aged population phase, which will bring many challenges and opportunities The researcher hopes that the local authorities would pay more attention to this issue and be more prepared for it to minimize any damage that comes with the demographic change.