Traditional health beliefs among Vietnamese Americans

Previous studies have described specific traditional health beliefs among Vietnamese Americans. Less is known about how common the beliefs are. The purpose of this study was to quantify the prevalence of traditional health beliefs among Vietnamese Americans. In 2002, we surveyed Vietnamese adults between 18 and 64 years of age from a population-based sample of randomly selected households in Seattle, Washington zip codes known to have high density of Vietnamese residents. A total of 1053 individuals completed the survey: 509 men and 544 women (response rates, 79% and 82%, respectively). Bilingual, bicultural Vietnamese interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with each person. Ninety-one percent of respondents believed illness can be prevented by maintaining a positive attitude; most agreed illness can be caused by an imbalance cold and heat (81%) or can be prevented by taking herbs (74%). Many felt some diseases are caused by wind (63%), and coining is the best treatment for some illnesses (61%). Bivariate results showed Vietnamese who agreed with the traditional health beliefs were more likely to be women, older, less educated, in the United States for less time, or not fluent in English. We conclude that traditional health beliefs are widespread and very common among Vietnamese Americans.