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Received Jan 26, 2017; Accepted Aug 3, 2017
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1. Introduction
The world’s population is aging, and this trend is also evident in Vietnam, where the proportion of people over 60 years of age has increased rapidly in recent decades, from 6.7% in 1979 to 10% in 2013. Further influencing this trend is confirmation that life expectancy at birth increased from 66 years in 1990 to 76 years by 2012 [1]. Meanwhile, epidemiological evidence has shown that even in developing countries the most prevalent diseases are no longer communicable diseases, but rather noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The World Health Organization’s 2014 NCD Country Profile for Vietnam estimated that NCDs account for 73% of all deaths [2]. Mean systolic blood pressure readings have been increasing since 1980, and mean total cholesterol levels have also been increasing since 1996. Stroke and ischemic heart disease were the leading causes of death in 2012 [2].
These data highlight elderly people’s need to adopt lifestyle modifications for their health. However, lifestyle changes are not made easily. Systematic education, motivation, and continuous monitoring by health professionals might be very helpful for encouraging lifestyle changes. In addition, functional status and health status are both highly related to the quality of life, and especially so for the elderly [3]. In one study, almost ten percent of the respondents reported a need for some help conducting activities of daily living (ADL), while over two-thirds of the elderly in rural Vietnam indicated that they needed instrumental or intellectual ADL support [4].
With rapid industrialization, young people moved to...