Working with Vietnamese American Families

There are approximately two million Vietnamese Americans residing in the United States. The majority of Vietnamese Americans are relatively recent immigrants with unique migration experiences. The Vietnamese culture stresses collectivism, has strong family values, and includes traditional roles for family members, which play a role in dementia care for Vietnamese American families. This chapter discusses working with Vietnamese American families in dementia care, including: migration and acculturation; caregiving in the context of family systems and cultural values; Vietnamese perceptions of dementia as well as death and dying; tailoring assessment and treatment strategies; and out-of-home care and the Vietnamese dementia patient. This chapter also introduces new studies on dementia caregiving interventions and provides some resources for Vietnamese American families.