Hanoi School Of Public Health

About: Hanoi School Of Public Health is a education organization based out in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 182 authors who have published 266 publications receiving 23330 citations.

Association Between User Fees and Dropout from Methadone Maintenance Therapy: Results of a Cohort Study in Vietnam

Abstract: —Vietnam launched methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) in 2008 with donor funding. To expand and ensure sustainability of the program, Vietnam shifted the responsibility for financing portio...

Tobacco Access and Availability for Vietnamese School Children (aged 13-15): Results from the Global Youth Tobacco Use Survey (GYTS) 2014 in Viet Nam

Abstract: Efforts to reduce tobacco use among school children need to be based on understanding of access to cigarettes by these subjects because previous studies indicated that enforcement of laws for controlling tobacco sales seems to not affect teen/school children because they can obtain cigarettes from different sources. This paper aims to describe access to and availability of cigarettes among school students (aged 13-15 years old) according to the data from GYTS Vietnam 2014. In GYTS, a national school-based survey of students of grades 8-10, our findings showed that about 15% school children are current smokers who smoke at home, and that they could easily buy cigarettes from stores (63.2%), or someone else (27.8%), or street vendors (9%). Notably, over 85% of school children answered that they were not refused because of their age. This high percentage was nearly the same in the North (85.7%), the Centre (92.5%), and the South (89.7%) of Viet Nam. These findings show that it is quite easy for school children to obtain cigarettes and this is a crucial challenge for policy makers aiming to reduce tobacco use among youth in general and school-age students in particular.

Access to Anti-smoking Information among School Children and its Potential Impact on Preventing Smoking Initiation: Results from the Global Youth Tobacco Use Survey (GYTS) 2014 in Viet Nam.

Abstract: Scientific evidence on all aspects of smoking amongst youth is very important for designing appropriate interventions to reduce smoking among this vulnerable population. This paper describes current access to antismoking information among school children aged 13 to 15 years in Vietnam in 2014 and examines its potential impact on preventing smoking initiation. The data used in this paper were obtained from the 2014 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in Vietnam. Students were asked questions about their level of awareness of anti-smoking information from various sources in the past 30 days and about lessons in school regarding the dangers of tobacco use during the last 12 months. Those who have never smoked were asked "whether or not they thought about avoiding cigarettes because of health warnings on cigarette packages" and answers were analyzed in combination with data on access to anti-smoking information from other sources. The prevalence of exposure to antismoking campaigns was high among school children in Viet Nam: 55.3% of current smokers reported thoughts of smoking cessation because of health warnings on cigarette packages; 60.5% of never smokers avoided initiating smoking because of the same health warnings. The potential impact of graphic health warnings to prevent school-aged children from smoking initiation would be stronger if there was concurrent access to anti-smoking programs on the dangers of tobacco use in schools. However, school education for tobacco prevention and control has not been as strong as expected. A more comprehensive school curriculum on tobacco prevention and control is recommended to reinforce antismoking messages among school children.

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities among adult male hardcore smokers in Vietnam: 2010-2015.

Abstract: Despite male smokers being dominant in Vietnam, scarce evidence on trends in socioeconomics inequalities among the hardcore male smokers is available in the country. In this study, we aimed at assessing the trends in socioeconomics inequalities among the hardcore smokers in adult male population in Vietnam over a five-year period from 2010 to 2015. We used data from two rounds of the Vietnam Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted in 2010 and 2015. We included only men aged 25 years and above in the analysis. We measured socioeconomic inequalities among hardcore smokers by calculating the concentration index. We conducted multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with hardcore smoking among men aged 25 years and above. The results of this study showed that the prevalence of male hardcore smokers aged 25 years and above in Vietnam was 9.5% in 2010 which increased to 13.1% in 2015. The prevalence of male hardcore smokers declined in the richest group from the 2010 level whereas it increased in the middle, poor and poorest groups. All values of weighted concentration indices indicated that the prevalence of male hardcore smokers occurred more among the poor men in Vietnam in both 2010 and 2015. The socioeconomic inequalities in hardcore smokers increased during 2010 and 2015. Residence in urban areas was significantly associated with higher adult male hardcore smoking in our study. Belonging to the age groups between 40 and 59 years, attaining primary and lower education, being self-employed, belonging to the poorest household group, smoking being allowed at home and no rule for smoking at home were associated with higher risk of being hardcore smoker among adult males in Vietnam. We found increased trends in socioeconomic inequalities in hardcore smoking among the study population. Our study results indicate that existing smoking secession and tobacco control policy and interventions need to be modified or new policies and interventions should be introduced with the perspective of addressing socioeconomic inequalities to have the desired impact. We recommend implementing specific targeted interventions for vulnerable population groups for better results.

Child survival revolutions revisited – lessons learned from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Vietnam

Abstract: Analysing child mortality may enhance our perspective on global achievements in child survival. We used data from surveillance sites in Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Vietnam and Demographic Health Surveys in Rwanda to explore the development of neonatal and under-five mortality. The mortality curves showed dramatic reductions over time, but child mortality in the four countries peaked during wars and catastrophes and was rapidly reduced by targeted interventions, multisectorial development efforts and community engagement. Lessons learned from these countries may be useful when tackling future challenges, including persistent neonatal deaths, survival inequalities and the consequences of climate change and migration.