While there is much speculation about the potential consequences of repatriation,systematic comparisons of health outcomes employing standard measures and appropriate population-based samples of migration returnees and nonreturnees are virtually non-existent. This study addresses this significant gap in the empirical literature by employing standard measures of mental and physical health outcomes for comparable samples of repatriated international migration returnees living in Ho Chi Minh City; never-leavers living in the same urban wards; and emigrants from Vietnam who successfully settled in a major US metropolitan area (total n=709; data were collected between 2003 and 2005). Key outcome measures examined include eight health subscales from the SF-36; depression; affect balance; blood pressure; BMI and waist-hip ratio; and two behavioral indicators of stress (alcohol and cigarette consumption). The results revealed consistent health disadvantages for the returnees on self-reported mental and physical health outcomes and for blood pressure with respect to our comparison groups of never-leavers and immigrants. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected].

Vietnam Returnee Selection effect Repatriation Refugees

international migration experimental study metropolitan area return migration urban area Viet Nam immigrant refugee emigration Ho Chi Minh City repatriation mental health