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Background: In middle-income countries such as Vietnam, where healthcare resources are already constrained, protecting healthcare workers (HCWs) is essential for ensuring the sustainability of COVID-19 response in Vietnam. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practices regarding the prevention of the COVID-19 among the HCWs in Vietnam to identify the ways of disseminating information to maximize the safety of these essential workers. Methods: An online cross-sectional study, using respondent-driven sampling, was conducted in Vietnam with 742 participants within 2 weeks. The validity of the questionnaire was examined by exploratory factor analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the level of knowledge and practices among the HCWs to prevent the COVID-19. Inferential statistics and regression modeling were used to identify the associated factors with results. Results: Vietnamese HCWs had a high level of knowledge with more than 75% of the participants demonstrating awareness of all the modes of transmission aside from air. The mean knowledge score was 3.7 ± 0.8 (range 1-5). Nearly all the participants relied on the Ministry of Health (98.3%) and the internet (95.5%) for information regarding the COVID-19. The participants endorsed a moderately high level of self-protective practices with mean scores of 4.2 and 3.6 (band score 1-5) for the precautionary and psychological measures, respectively. Nurses were more likely to practice the precautionary measures than doctors and the HCWs at the central level were more likely to practice the psychological measures than those at the district level. Conclusion: Future education initiatives should consolidate the latest literature in an accessible format, focusing initially on the gaps of knowledge regarding aerosol transmission. These initiatives should primarily focus on the doctors, especially those in emergency and intensive care departments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Nguyen, Le, Ta, Wong, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Duong, Luong, Koh, Hoang, Pham, Vu, Vu, Latkin, Ho and Ho.)

Since the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, international recommendations for disease control have been readily available. However, blind implementation of these recommendations without grassroot-level support could result in public distrust and low adherence. This study evaluated the use of a public health priorities survey to rapidly assess perceptions of local health workers. A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted among 5,847 health workers and medical students from January to February 2020 to evaluate the level of prioritization of various public health measures. Measures with the highest levels of prioritization were "Early prevention, environmental sanitation, and improvement of population health" and "Mobilization of community participation in disease control," which were concordant with policies implemented by the Vietnamese government. This study also demonstrated a high level of internal validity among survey items and shared ranking of priorities among all occupational groups. The use of this public health priorities survey was found to be effective in identifying priorities as identified by grassroots health workers to provide real-time feedback to the national government. However, future iterations of this survey should consider limiting the use of each prioritization score to ensure that responses represent the reality of source limitations and consider focusing on medical professionals and community workers due medical students' limited experience with Vietnam's healthcare infrastructure., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Tran, Hoang, Nguyen, Le, Pham, Hoang, Nguyen, Latkin, Ho and Ho.)

The novel Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, impacting the lifestyles, economy, physical and mental health of individuals globally. This study aimed to test the model triggered by physical symptoms resembling COVID-19 infection, in which the need for health information and perceived impact of the pandemic mediated the path sequentially, leading to adverse mental health outcomes. A cross-sectional research design with chain mediation model involving 4612 participants from participating 8 countries selected via a respondent-driven sampling strategy was used. Participants completed online questionnaires on physical symptoms, the need for health information, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The results showed that Poland and the Philippines were the two countries with the highest levels of anxiety, depression and stress; conversely, Vietnam had the lowest mean scores in these areas. Chain mediation model showed the need for health information, and the perceived impact of the pandemic were sequential mediators between physical symptoms resembling COVID-19 infection (predictor) and consequent mental health status (outcome). Excessive and contradictory health information might increase the perceived impact of the pandemic. Rapid COVID-19 testing should be implemented to minimize the psychological burden associated with physical symptoms, whilst public mental health interventions could target adverse mental outcomes associated with the pandemic.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy, livelihood, and physical and mental well-being of people worldwide. This study aimed to compare the mental health status during the pandemic in the general population of seven middle income countries (MICs) in Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). All the countries used the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure mental health. There were 4479 Asians completed the questionnaire with demographic characteristics, physical symptoms and health service utilization, contact history, knowledge and concern, precautionary measure, and rated their mental health with the IES-R and DASS-21. Descriptive statistics, One-Way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression were used to identify protective and risk factors associated with mental health parameters. There were significant differences in IES-R and DASS-21 scores between 7 MICs (p<0.05). Thailand had all the highest scores of IES-R, DASS-21 stress, anxiety, and depression scores whereas Vietnam had all the lowest scores. The risk factors for adverse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic include age <30 years, high education background, single and separated status, discrimination by other countries and contact with people with COVID-19 (p<0.05). The protective factors for mental health include male gender, staying with children or more than 6 people in the same household, employment, confidence in doctors, high perceived likelihood of survival, and spending less time on health information (p<0.05). This comparative study among 7 MICs enhanced the understanding of metal health in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors completed the ICMJE Unified Competing Interest form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and declare no conflicts of interest.

To effectively control the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak in later stages in Vietnam requires addressing the existing gaps in the national health emergency framework, consolidate, and inform its structure, we conducted this study to evaluate the importance and collaborative mechanism between health and community service workers with intersectional organizations at grassroots levels in Vietnam. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted from 12/2019 to 02/2020 on 581 participants (37 health workers, 473 medical students, and 71 community service workers). The snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants. We used exploratory factor analysis to test the construct validity of the questionnaire measuring the perceived efficiency of involving community service workers in health care-related activities and Tobit models to examine its associated factors. The results showed the importance of local organizations in epidemic preparedness and response at grassroots levels, with scores ranging from 6.4 to 7.1, in which the Vietnam Youth Federation played the most important role (mean = 7.1, SD = 2.2). Of note, community service workers were viewed as performing well in health communication and education at agencies, schools, and other localities. Medical students perceived higher efficiency of involving community service workers in health care-related activities at grassroots levels as compared to health workers. We encourage the government to promote intersectoral collaboration in epidemic preparedness and response, giving attention to scale up throughout training as well as interdistrict and interprovincial governance mechanisms., (Copyright © 2020 Le, Mai, Pham, Nguyen, Vu, Phung, Nghiem, Tran, Latkin, Ho and Ho.)

This study aimed to evaluate the psychological effects of the partial lockdown on the people in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire regarding attitudes toward COVID-19 along with psychological parameters, including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was conducted. From a total of 1,382 questionnaires, the respondents reported low prevalence of depression (4.9%), anxiety (7.0%), and stress (3.4%). The mean DASS-21 scores recorded were also markedly lower compared to similar studies conducted in China, Italy, and Iran. Respondents who reported severe PTSD had significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Factors that were associated with an increased level of depression, stress, and anxiety were being single, separated, or widowed, a higher education level, a larger family size, loss of jobs and being in contact with potential COVID-19 patients. Contrary to expectations, the level of depression, stress, and anxiety observed has been low. Our findings can aid in future research on the impact of a partial lockdown and guide mental health professionals in Vietnam and other countries in the preparation of better care for populations under such circumstances., (Copyright © 2020 Le, Lai, Sun, Hoang, Vu, Pham, Nguyen, Tran, Latkin, Le, Nguyen, Pham, Ta, Nguyen, Ho and Ho.)