The Long-Term Impact of War on Health and Well-Being in Northern Vietnam: Some Glimpses from a Recent Survey

Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Singapore Management University
Kim Korinek, University of Utah

War is considered one of the most intransigent obstacles to development; yet, the long-run effects of war on individual health have rarely been examined in the context of developing countries. Based on unique data recently collected as a pilot follow-up to the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, this study examines health status of northern Vietnamese war cohorts (those who entered adulthood during the Vietnam War and now represent Vietnam’s older-adult population). To ascertain who and how war has impacted old-age functional and mental health, we compare multi-dimensional measures of health among war survivors, including civilians, combatants, non-combatants, and non-veterans involving in militia activities. Multivariate results suggest that despite prolonged exposure to war and trauma, combat and non-combat veterans are not significantly different from their civilian counterparts in terms of self-rated, functional, and mental health in older adult years. The lack of war’s adverse effects might be explained by how encompassing the Vietnam War was to the northern Vietnamese society.