| 1. |
- Xuan, Le Thi Thanh, et al.
(författare)
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Seasonality in mortality and its relationship to temperature among the older population in Hanoi, Vietnam
- 2014
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Co-Action publishing. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Several studies have established a relationship between temperature and mortality. In particular, older populations have been shown to be vulnerable to temperature effects. However, little information exists on the temperature-mortality relationship in Vietnam. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to examine the monthly temperature-mortality relationship among older people in Hanoi, Vietnam, over the period between 2005 and 2010, and estimate seasonal patterns in mortality. METHODS: We employed Generalized Additive Models, including smooth functions, to model the temperature-mortality relationships. A quasi-Poisson distribution was used to model overdispersion of death counts. Temporal trends, seasonality, and population size were adjusted for while estimating changes in monthly mortality over the study period. A cold month was defined as a month with a mean temperature below 19 degrees C. RESULTS: This study found that the high peak of mortality coincided with low temperatures in the month of February 2008, during which the mean temperature was the lowest in the whole study period. There was a significant relationship between mean monthly temperature and mortality among the older people (pB0.01). Overall, there was a significant decrease in the number of deaths in the year 2009 during the study period. There was a 21% increase in the number of deaths during the cold season compared to the warm season. The increase in mortality during the cold period was higher among females compared to males (female: IRR [incidence relative risk] = 1.23; male: IRR = 1.18). CONCLUSIONS: Cold temperatures substantially increased mortality among the older population in Hanoi, Vietnam, and there were gender differences. Necessary preventive measures are required to mitigate temperature effects with greater attention to vulnerable groups.
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| 2. |
- Nguyen, Hong Hanh, et al.
(författare)
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"I can make more from selling medicine when breaking the rules" : understanding the antibiotic supply network in a rural community in Viet Nam
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2458. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: As in many other low and middle income countries (LIMCs), Vietnam has experienced a major growth in the pharmaceutical industry, with large numbers of pharmacies and drug stores, and increasing drug expenditure per capita over the past decade. Despite regulatory frameworks that have been introduced to control the dispensing and use of prescription-only drugs, including antibiotics, compliance has been reported to be strikingly low particularly in rural parts of Vietnam. This qualitative study aimed to understand antibiotic access and use practices in the community from both supplier and consumer perspectives in order to support the identification and development of future interventions.METHODS: This qualitative study was part of a project on community antibiotic access and use (ABACUS) in six LMICs. The focus was Ba Vi district of Hanoi capital city, where we conducted 16 indepth interviews (IDIs) with drug suppliers, and 16 IDIs and 6 focus group discussions (FGDs) with community members. Drug suppliers were sampled based on mapping of all informal and formal antibiotic purchase or dispensing points in the study area. Community members were identified through local networks and relationships with the field collaborators. All IDIs and FGDs were audio-taped, transcribed and analysed using content analysis.RESULTS: We identified a large number of antibiotic suppliers in the locality with widespread infringements of regulatory requirements. Established reciprocal relationships between suppliers and consumers in drug transactions were noted, as was the consumers' trust in the knowledge and services provided by the suppliers. In addition, antibiotic use has become a habitual choice in most illness conditions, driven by both suppliers and consumers.CONCLUSIONS: This study presents an analysis of the practices of antibiotic access and use in a rural Vietnamese setting. It highlights the interactions between antibiotic suppliers and consumers in the community and identifies possible targets for interventions.
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| 3. |
- Toan, Do Thi Thanh, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptions of climate change and its impact on human health : an integrated quantitative and qualitative approach.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 7, s. 23025-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization emphasized that climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health, especially in lower income populations and tropical/subtropical countries. However, people in Asia and Africa were the least likely to perceive global warming as a threat. In Vietnam, little research has been conducted concerning the perceptions of effects of climate change on human health.OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions on climate change and its impact on human health among people in Hanoi.DESIGN: We applied a combined quantitative and qualitative approach to study perceptions on climate change among people in Hanoi. A total of 1,444 people were recruited, including 754 people living in non-slum areas and 690 people living in slum areas of Hanoi. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on their perceptions. In a parallel qualitative study, two focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews (IDs) were carried out involving 24 people from both slum and non-slum areas.RESULTS: The majority of the respondents in the study had heard about climate change and its impact on human health (79.3 and 70.1% in non-slum and slum areas, respectively). About one third of the respondents reported that members of their family had experienced illness in the recent summer and winter compared to the same seasons 5 years ago. The most common symptoms reported during hot weather were headaches, fatigue, and dizziness; hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases were also reported. During cold weather, people reported experiencing cough, fever, and influenza, as well as pneumonia and emerging infectious diseases such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis.CONCLUSIONS: The observed high level of awareness on the links between climate change and human health may help to increase the success of the National Prevention Program on Climate Change. Moreover, understanding the concerns of the people may help policy makers to develop and implement effective and sustainable adaptation measures for Hanoi City as well as for Vietnam as a whole.
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