Rural-to-urban migration in Vietnam: conceptualized youth’s vulnerabilities in the city

• Pages: 117-130
• Date: 05 March 2018
• Published date: 05 March 2018
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-11-2015-0044
• Author: Nhu Ngoc K. Pham,Mai Do,Van H. Bui,Giang T. Nguyen
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Inequalities & diverse/minority groups,Sociology,Race & ethnic studies,Minorities,Multiculturalism,Racial identity,Work, economy & organizations,Labour movements

Rural-to-urban migration in Vietnam:

conceptualized youth’s vulnerabilities

in the city

Nhu Ngoc K. Pham, Mai Do, Van H. Bui and Giang T. Nguyen

Abstract

Purpose –Vietnam is experiencing high rates of young adult migration from rural hometowns to urban cities

in search of new economic and social opportunities. However, limited internal migration research has

examined the well-being of this population once they are in the urban destinations, as well as their interactions

with the new lifestyles in the cities. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the social transition of young

Vietnamese migrants into city life.

Design/methodology/approach –In-depth interviews were conducted among ten female and six male

temporary unmarried migrants, between ages of 18 and 25 years, currently living in Ha Noi through

purposive sampling.

Findings –Despite a higher income in the city, young migrants often suffer fromphysical and mental health

strains that decrease their overall well-being, caused by the factors such as barriers to assimilation to new

lifestyles,continued attachment toorigin hometowns, financialpressures, and poor livingconditions. Important

aspects in pre-migration expectationsand actual experiences influencedthe psychosocial well-being ofthese

young migrants as they transitioned into adulthood during their migration process. Migration to the city and

assimilation into city life also changed young migrants’views on lifestyles and behaviors often considered

misconducts in their rural hometowns, such as premarital sex. Female migrants faced higher stigmatization

compared to male migrants,often described by fellow migrants as becoming“loose”in the new city.

Originality/value –The study findings highlight the important gender-specific implications for health services

and programs to improve young migrants’well-being in the city.

Keywords Stigma, Vietnam, Youth, Adulthood transition, Internal migration

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Internal migration is extensive across all parts of the world, especially in the South Pacific region

of Asia. It is estimated that 381 million of the world’s adults have moved within their countries in

the past five years (Esipova et al., 2013). As internal migration increases worldwide, there has

been an uptick in urban transition, shifting the global population from predominately rural to more

urban. According to the World Health Organization (2014), approximately 54 percent of the

global population is living in an urban area; this proportion is expected to grow approximately

1.84 percent per year between 2015 and 2020. The rapid urban transition of Asian cities

facilitated the formation of many Asian mega-urban regions that have reached beyond ten million

people residing within their administrative boundaries; however, this figure does not take a large

number of semi-permanent and unregistered citizens into account ( Jones and Douglas, 2008).

This phenomenon is evident within Vietnam, as many migrants continue to leave rural areas for

major cities like Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Like much of Southea st Asia, internal urban migratio n in Vietnam is largely fueled by eco nomic

development. Currently, approximately 32 percent of the population in Vietnam lives in urban

areas (Population Reference Bureau, 2014). The World Health Organization (2014) projects

the urban population to reach 54 percent by 2015; much of this increase is due to internal

Received 9 November 2015

Revised 23 March 2016

4 September 2017

Accepted 20 November 2017

Tulane University School of Public

Health andTropical Medicine

supportedthis study with Dr Mai Do

as the PrincipalInvestigator. The

authors thankthe Institute for

CommunityDevelopment and

Health (LIGHT)for facilitating the

fieldworkof this study. No potential

conflictof interest relevant tothis

paper was reported.

Nhu Ngoc K. Pham and Mai Do

are both based at the

Department of Global

Community Health and

Behavioral Sciences, Tulane

University School of Public

Health and Tropical Medicine,

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Van H. Bui and Giang T. Nguyen

are both based at the Institute for

Community Development and

Health –LIGHT,Hanoi,Vietnam.

DOI 10.1108/IJMHSC-11-2015-0044 VOL. 14 NO. 1 2018, pp.117-130, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-9894

j

INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF MIGRATION, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

j

PAGE117