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The COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of schools created disruptions in Vietnamese education, which has not been evaluated to date. This paper reviews the effect of COVID-19 policies on teaching and learning in higher education in Vietnam. We first contextualize higher education in Vietnam before the COVID-19 pandemic. We then analyze the Vietnamese government's policies to curb the virus spread. In doing so, we highlight on Vietnam's inequalities of access to higher education, quality of curriculum and instruction, and institutional autonomy. Our analysis focuses on how Vietnam's COVID-19 policies simultaneously responded to the pandemic and moderate prior educational issues. This review contrasts the advantages and disadvantages of the policies and highlights the challenges Vietnamese universities face in policy implementation. We conclude this paper by discussing the implications of changes made during the pandemic to comment on higher education in Vietnam post-COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on medication adherence in patients with acute coronary symptom (ACS) in Vietnam is scarce. To determine the prevalence and determinants of medication adherence of these patients within six months after hospital discharge, we conducted a prospective observational study in Can Tho City, Vietnam. We defined medication adherence as patients' returning for their scheduled outpatient appointments and having a score of >5 on the medication adherence questionnaire at follow-ups. Patient characteristics, illness perception, and beliefs about medicines were measured during hospitalization. We used logistic regression to analyze data. We included 95 patients with median (interquartile range) age 64 (58 to 79) years, 56.8% of whom were males. Rates of medication adherence at one, three, and six months were 83.2%, 80.0%, and 76.8%, respectively (Cochran Q test p=0.354). Patients who had a higher score in perception of ACS consequences (OR=1.23; 95%CI=1.01-1.50), believed more in the necessity of medications (OR=1.21; 95%CI=1.04-1.40), or who had been adherent at one-month (OR=7.50; 95%CI=1.69-33.35) or three-months (OR=11.56; 95%CI=2.98-44.77), were more likely to be adherent. Patients who perceived themselves to have more personal control of ACS (OR=0.72; 95%CI=0.54-0.96) or believed that physicians overused medicines (OR=0.76; 95%CI=0.63-0.93) were less likely to be adherent. In conclusion, the prevalence of medication adherence of patients with ACS in Vietnam was relatively high and stable during six months after discharge, but there is still room for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discussed Vietnam's ongoing efforts to decentralize the health system and its fitness to respond to global health crises as presented through the Covid-19 pandemic. We used a general review and expert's perspective to explore the topic. We found that the healthcare system in Vietnam continued to decentralize from a pyramid to a wheel model. This system shifts away from a stratified technical hierarchy of higher- and lower-level health units (pyramid model) to a system in which quality healthcare is equally expected among all health units (wheel model). This decentralization has delivered more quality healthcare facilities, greater freedom for patients to choose services at any level, a more competitive environment among hospitals to improve quality, and reductions in excess capacity burden at higher levels. It has also enabled the transformation from a patient-based traditional healthcare model into a patient-centered care system. However, this decentralization takes time and requires long-term political, financial commitment, and a working partnership among key stakeholders. This perspective provides Vietnam's experience of the decentralization of the healthcare system that may be consider as a useful example for other countries to strategically think of and to shape their future system within their own socio-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: After the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, a high number of cases and severe dengue in children were reported in some provinces in the south of Vietnam. This study aimed to determine the distribution of dengue virus serotypes and their correlation with demographic factors, disease severity, clinical manifestations, and laboratory findings. Methodology: This study employed a cross-sectional design. Ninety-six dengue-infected children admitted to Can Tho Children's Hospital between October 2022 and March 2023 were included. Confirmation of dengue infection was achieved through the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: Among the identified serotypes, DENV-2 accounted for the highest proportion (71.87%), followed by DENV-1 (23.96%), and DENV-4 (4.17%). DENV-3 was not detected. No significant demographic, disease severity, or laboratory differences were observed among the identified dengue serotypes. However, DENV-2 was associated with a higher occurrence of mucous membrane hemorrhages and gastrointestinal bleeding compared to other serotypes. Conclusions: Although DENV-2 was the most prevalent serotype responsible for dengue in children in southern Vietnam, it did not lead to more severe cases compared to other serotypes. This finding is crucial for evaluating the illness's prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To determine how harm reduction should be applied in low-resource countries such as Vietnam by exploring the perspectives of people who use drugs (PWUD), health care professionals, and policymakers regarding methadone treatment and harm reduction strategies. Methods. We conducted 2 qualitative studies in Vietnam between 2016 and 2021. We interviewed 62 PWUD and 22 experts in drug policy development and drug treatment programs, conducted observations at methadone clinics and harm reduction program meetings, and analyzed drug policy documents. Results. PWUD considered methadone treatment only as a transition to a drug-free life. Policymakers deemed harm reduction ineffective and continued to enforce arrest and incarceration of PWUD. Drug intervention programs are not yet geared to providing specialized services. Effective communication strategies and information on evidence-based harm reduction models are inadequate to help policymakers make the right decisions. Conclusions. Harm reduction principles have not been fully adopted in Vietnam. A harm reduction strategy based on a more humanistic approach that goes beyond a biomedicalized approach is urgently needed in Vietnam and other countries in the Global South. ( Am J Public Health . 2022;112(S2):S182-S190. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306764).