THE EFFECT OF HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOR ON HEALTH STATUS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM

Abstract

Vietnam is one of the forefront countries in ASEAN in term of rapid population aging. One of the major challenges of rapid population aging is the shifting in the morbidity patterns from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases. Therefore, the shifting in morbidity and mortality patterns among older persons is likely to increase the burden of chronic diseases in Vietnam, which may result in a heavy economic burden on older persons, their family, and the government. In order to combat with non-communicable diseases, the health promoting behavior has been introduced as an important measure. Although the health status and health behavior of the elderly are one of the major challenges for their well-being and the sustainable development of the country, there are very few studies focusing on this issue. In addition, most of the study concentrated on Northern Vietnam. So far, there are very few studies about the health status of the elderly in Southern Vietnam. Therefore, this study attempted to explore the situation of health status of the elderly in Southern Vietnam as well as the relationship between health promoting behavior and health status of the elderly. This study utilizes the secondary data from “the Survey on Inequity on Health and Nutritional Status of Aged People Living in Urban and Rural Areas of the Southern Vietnam and Its Social Determinants” conducted by the Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in cooperation with WHO in 2010. The health status is assessed by Body Mass Index. The results from multivariate analysis reveal when controlling for all background variables of the older persons, the health behavior, especially nutritional intake and alcohol consumption, and walking per day has statistically significant on the health status of older persons. The result also reveals the difference in health status among older persons in urban and rural areas.