Sociology and 40 years of Doi moi in Vietnam: The aging and older adults research program at the Institute of Sociology, 1991-2005

Abstract

Research on the elderly in Vietnam has a history of over half a century, starting in 1970 when the Ministry of Health established the Research Program on Gerontology. Up until the mid-1980s, the elderly was almost exclusively a field of interest of research and clinical gerontologists. In 1977, they conducted a large-scale survey with a sample of more than 13,000 people, sketching an epidemiological and health portrait of the elderly. Near the mid-1980s, sociologists began to take an interest in the subject of the elderly. By the late 1980s, with support from international organizations, the Vietnamese had the first country report on the elderly. The early 1990s marked the beginning of a good collaboration between the Institute for the Protection of Elderly Health and the Institute of Sociology. Since then, Vietnamese sociologists have engaged more extensively and vigorously in this area of study. The article reflects on the contributions of research on the elderly conducted by the Institute of Sociology under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences during the period 1991-2005, reviewing some academic achievements and policy contributions.