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Using data from Vietnamese-origin older immigrants/refugees in the Houston, Texas area, we assessed their overall health, chronic conditions, disability, depressive symptoms, and cognitive impairment, and examined the association between their chronic conditions and disability by comorbidity clusters. The mean age of the sample was 76 years old. The majority were married in fair/poor health with several chronic conditions and disabilities and lived with families in low-income households. Hypertension and arthritis were the most common health conditions, but cognitive impairment had the most significant impact on their disability. They experienced similar health conditions to other older Americans but had higher rates of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment possibly due to cultural factors that may have delayed mental health treatment. Culturally and linguistically tailored services created by policymakers, healthcare professionals, and local social service agencies are recommended for the well-being of immigrants/refugees who migrated to the U.S. for a better life., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

Objective : We examined the association between care recipient's physical, mental, and cognitive health conditions and caregivers' psychological distress in Vietnamese older care recipients and their caregivers. Methods : The Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey was developed for care recipients, and adult-child and spousal caregivers, and inquired about their sociodemographics and health-related variables. Results : Data were collected on 58 caregiver-care recipient dyads. Adult-child and spousal caregivers were on average 43 and 70 years-old respectively. The vast majority were female (76%) and born in Vietnam (97%). Adult-child caregivers reported more caregiver burden than spousal caregivers. Care recipients were on average 75 years-old. Care recipients of adult-child caregivers reported more depressive symptoms than care recipients of spousal caregivers and were more likely to have mild dementia. Care recipients' health had no effect on caregiver depressive symptoms but their educational attainment was associated with caregiver burden and depressive symptoms. Conclusions : This study showed care recipients and caregivers' years of education were positively associated with caregivers' psychological distress. Vietnamese families lived in ethnic enclaves and shared caregiving responsibilities within the family. However, using available outside resources may alleviate psychological distress of not only caregivers but also families as a whole. Clinical Implications : Healthcare professionals should encourage educated caregivers and educated care recipients to use outside resources to ease caregiving duties.

After the Vietnam War, 1.3 million Vietnamese migrated to the U.S. where they are the fourth largest Asian American subgroup. However, little is known about their health compared to other Asian subgroups. As such, we developed the Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey to understand older Vietnamese immigrants' health in Houston, Texas (N=132). We examined how social support moderated the relationship between their physical disability and mental health (depressive symptoms and loneliness). Most respondents rated their health as fair/poor and more than half lived in extended family households or senior housing in ethnic enclaves. Having more physical disabilities was associated with higher depressive symptoms and loneliness, but higher social support moderated the effect of physical disability on loneliness. Local policymakers and stakeholders might strategize using the existing culturally and linguistically appropriate daycare centers and home and community-based services to mitigate depression and loneliness among older Vietnamese immigrants with physical disabilities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Vietnamese are the largest Asian ethnic group in Houston, Texas; however, research on this population is scarce. To address this dearth of knowledge, we developed the Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey . The objective of the study was to explore the sociodemographic and health characteristics of Vietnamese adults aged 65 years and older (n = 132) and their family caregivers (n = 64). Adult-child caregivers (n = 41) were aged between 21 and 65 years old. The majority were married, working, female, and in good to excellent health. Spousal caregivers (n = 23) were between 57 and 82 years old, retired, female, and in fair to good health. Adult children received more caregiving-related help from others compared to spousal caregivers; however, they felt more caregiver burden, had more perceived stress, and were in challenging relationships with care recipients. Differences in life stages of adult-child versus spousal caregivers may contribute to these results. Implications are discussed.