Misunderstandings of Vietnamese culture and beliefs have led to many unfortunate incidents in the United States, including court cases for child abuse and even suicide. These can be avoided by an awareness of the cultural background of the Vietnamese, their philosophy of life and the influence of religion and beliefs on their personalities, both as individual persons and as members of extended family units. The Vietnamese concepts of health and disease are presented, along with brief descriptions of certain folk medicines that are frequently misconstrued by American physicians.