Photorefractivity and photocurrent dynamics of triphenylamine-based polymer composites.

The photorefractive properties of triphenylamine polymer-based composites with various composition ratios were investigated via optical diffraction, response time, asymmetric energy transfer, and transient photocurrent. The composite consisted of a photoconductive polymer of poly((4-diphenylamino)benzyl acrylate), a photoconductive plasticizer of (4-diphenylamino)phenyl)methanol, a sensitizer of [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester, and a nonlinear optical dye of (4-(azepan-1-yl)-benzylidene)malononitrile. The photorefractive properties and related quantities were dependent on the composition, which was related to the glass transition temperature of the photorefractive polymers. The quantum efficiency (QE) of photocarrier generation was evaluated from the initial slope of the transient photocurrent. Transient photocurrents were measured and showed two unique peaks: one in the range of 10-4 to 10-3 s and the other in the range of 10-1 to 1 s. The transient photocurrents was well simulated (or reproduced) by the expanded two-trapping site model with two kinds of photocarrier generation and recombination processes and two different trapping sites. The obtained photorefractive quantity of trap density was significantly related to the photoconductive parameters of QE.

New-insight UVB Treatment for Psoriasis Vulgaris in Vietnamese Patients.

Background: Narrowband UVB (NBUVB) has recently been used in Vietnam for the treatment of psoriasis. However, there are no data on Vietnamese patients to adopt a uniform national protocol. Objectives: This study aimed to establish an optimal NBUVB therapy for the treatment of psoriasis in Vietnamese patients. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty-two patients with psoriasis vulgaris were included. They were randomly allocated to two groups: the percentage dose (group 1, 62 patients) and the fixed dose (group 2, 60 patients). In group 1, the starting dose was 50% of the minimal erythema dose (MED) and the 10% increment dose adjusted in the next sessions. In group 2, the starting dose was based on Fitzpatrick skin types (fixed dose). Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) was used to evaluate efficacy. Results: More than 68% of the patients get PASI75 at session 36. Group 2 had significantly fewer sessions (20 ± 5 vs 25 ± 7, P- value = 0.0004) and lower cumulative dose than group 1 (14.1 ± 4.3 J/cm2 vs 18.0 ± 8.0 J/cm2, P- value = 0.0075) to achieve PASI75. Adverse effects were more common in group 2 than group 1, including burning sensation/erythema (43.33% vs 14.52%, P- value = 0.0009) and pruritus (75.00% vs 22.58%, P- value <0.0001). Conclusion: NBUVB therapy was safe and effective for Vietnamese psoriasis patients. Fixed doses produced a quicker clinical response with fewer sessions and lower cumulative doses. Adverse effects were mild in both groups and less noted for the MED-based dose. For the recommendation, a fixed dose should be applied for patients who have less concern about side effects, while a MED-based dose can be suitable for patients having conditions related to light sensitivity.

New Data on Boletaceae (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) from Central Vietnam with Description of Two New Species and Creation of a New Combination Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence.

Two new species of Boletaceae (Hortiboletus rubroreticulatus and Tylopilus aurantiovulpinus) discovered during an investigation of the mycobiota of Central Vietnam (Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve; Ta Dung National Park; Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park; Kon Ka Kinh National Park) are described on the basis of molecular and morphological data. Illustrated descriptions of their macro- and microscopic features and discussion on similar taxa are given. Additionally, eight species which were recorded for the first time in Vietnam are listed and illustrated here. A new combination Kgaria virescens was made for one of these species. These results were confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis based on nrITS1-5.8S-ITS2, nrLSU, and tef1α regions.

Economic Burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review.

Globally, providing evidence on the economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is becoming essential as it assists the health authorities to efficiently allocate resources. This study aimed to summarize the literature on economic burden evidence for COPD from 1990 to 2019. This study examined the economic burden of COPD through a systematic review of studies from 1990 to 2019. A search was done in online databases, including Web of Science, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. After screening 12,734 studies, 43 articles that met the inclusion criteria were identified. General study information and data on direct, indirect, and intangible costs were extracted and converted to 2018 international dollars (Int$). Findings revealed that the total direct costs ranged from Int$ 52.08 (India) to Int$ 13,776.33 (Canada) across 16 studies, with drug costs rannging from Int$ 70.07 (Vietnam) to Int$ 8,706.9 (China) in 11 studies. Eight studies explored indirect costs, while one highlighted caregivers' direct costs at approximately Int$ 1,207.8 (Greece). This study underscores the limited research on COPD caregivers' economic burdens, particularly in developing countries, emphasizing the importance of increased research support, particularly in high-resource settings. This study provides information about the demographics and economic burden of COPD from 1990 to 2019. More strategies to reduce the frequency of hospital admissions and acute care services should be implemented to improve the quality of COPD patients' lives and reduce the disease's rising economic burden.

New Species of Entoloma Subgenera Cubospora and Leptonia (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) from Central Vietnam.

Four new species of Entoloma from Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve and Ta Dung National Park were discovered during an investigation of the diversity of the mycobiota of Central Vietnam and are described here on the base of the molecular and morphological data. Phylogenetic analysis was based on nrITS1-5.8S-ITS2, nrLSU and tef1α regions. Illustrated descriptions of their macro- and microscopic features and discussion on similar taxa are given. Entoloma cycneum and E. peristerinum belong to the subgenus Cubospora. They are morphologically similar species and are characterized by white or whitish basidiomata with yellowish or beige tinges and with mainly smooth, glabrous, and hygrophanous pileus, longitudinally fibrillose or fibrillose-scaly white stipe, cuboid spores, and more or less cylindrical cheilocystidia, arising from hymenophoral trama. Entoloma peristerinum posseses initially more coloured beige conical pileus, discolouring to white with age and drying. The pileus of E. cycneum is initially white, hemisphaerical to convex, usually with thin pubescence near the margin. The species can be recognized also by the cheilocystidia form: serrulatum-type in E. cycneum vs. porphyrogriseum-type in E. peristerinum. Another two species belong to the subgenus Leptonia. Entoloma tadungense is close to E. percoelestinum from which it differs by smaller spores with pronounced angles, presence of the cheilocystidia, and the lilac discolouration of the stipe. E. dichroides is named after its similarity to E. dichroum, a dark blue coloured species with pronouncedly angled basidiospores. It is distinguished by the basidiospores form-irregularly 5(-6) angled with elongated apiculus, as well as by absence of the cheilocystidia and darker basidiomata with conical pileus. The article also describes the history of the study of the genus Entoloma in Vietnam with a list of 29 species mentioned in the publications for this country.

Observations on Pluteaceae in Vietnam: Four New Species and New Records of Pluteus.

Eighteen specimens of Pluteus collected from the tropical forests of Vietnam were studied using morphological and molecular approaches. Pluteus podospilloides, P. semibulbosus, P. chrysaegis and P. septocystidiatus are registered as additional or new records for Vietnam. Four species (P. conformis, P. lucidus, P. subroseus, and P. ornatus) are proposed as new to science, and several other collections (Pluteus sp. 1, P. aff. septocystidiatus, P. aff. pauperculus and P. cf. velutinus) are given an inconclusive taxonomic status for now. The taxonomic positions of all specimens were confirmed using DNA data (nrITS and tef1). Descriptions of the macro- and microscopic features of the studied collections with a discussion of similar taxa are given.

Understanding financial literacy and associated factors among adult population in a low-middle income country.

This study aims to identify whether demographics, socio-economic factors, the usage of the internet, smartphone and bank, and cultural factor affect Vietnamese adults' financial literacy. A sample of 669 participants participated in the online survey questionnaire (response rate of 89.92%). Multivariate general linear model regression shows that adults of younger age have better skills in cash management, credit management, savings and investment, and financial management compared to older adults. The findings suggest that participants with better income could manage savings and overall finance more effectively. Furthermore, respondents with "Uncertain avoidance" in the culture had better skills in cash management, saving, and investment. Meanwhile, preferring masculinity had higher scores in credit management, insurance, and total scale compared to those preferring femininity. The significant contribution of this study is its usefulness for economic players to have assertive financial strategies and policymakers to enhance the level of financial literacy and provide trustworthy financial guidance.

'Us-Versus-Them': Othering in COVID-19 public health behavior compliance.

OBJECTIVE: We explored public perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic to learn how those attitudes may affect compliance with health behaviors. METHODS: Participants were Central Pennsylvania adults from diverse backgrounds purposively sampled (based on race, gender, educational attainment, and healthcare worker status) who responded to a mixed methods survey, completed between March 25-31, 2020. Four open-ended questions were analyzed, including: "What worries you most about the COVID-19 pandemic?" We applied a pragmatic, inductive coding process to conduct a qualitative, descriptive content analysis of responses. RESULTS: Of the 5,948 respondents, 538 were sampled for this qualitative analysis. Participants were 58% female, 56% with ≥ bachelor's degree, and 50% from minority racial backgrounds. Qualitative descriptive analysis revealed four themes related to respondents' health and societal concerns: lack of faith in others; fears of illness or death; frustration at perceived slow societal response; and a desire for transparency in communicating local COVID-19 information. An "us-versus-them" subtext emerged; participants attributed non-compliance with COVID-19 behaviors to other groups, setting themselves apart from those Others. CONCLUSION: Our study uncovered Othering undertones in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, occurring between groups of like-minded individuals with behavioral differences in 'compliance' versus 'non-compliance' with public health recommendations. Addressing the 'us-versus-them' mentality may be important for boosting compliance with recommended health behaviors.

Sex Differences in Academic Productivity Across Academic Ranks and Specialties in Academic Medicine: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Despite equal numbers of men and women entering medical school, women are underrepresented in the upper echelons of academic medicine and receive less compensation and research funding. Citation-related publication productivity metrics, such as the h-index, are increasingly used for hiring, salary, grants, retention, promotion, and tenure decisions. Exploring sex differences in these metrics across academic medicine provides deeper insight into why differences are observed in career outcomes. Objective: To systematically examine the available literature on sex differences in h-index of academic faculty physicians across all medical specialties and all levels of academic rank. Data Sources: Medical literature with the term h-index found in PubMed and published between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2018, was used. Study Selection: A PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes), PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses), and MOOSE (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) selection protocol was used to find observational studies that published h-indexes for faculty physicians that were stratified by sex. Studies were excluded if they were review articles, retracted, or unavailable online. Ultimately, 14 of 786 studies (1.78%) met the inclusion criteria. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Data from 9 studies across 16 specialties were examined using weighted random-effects meta-analyses. Five studies were excluded because of overlapping specialties with another study or because they were missing appropriate statistics for the meta-analysis. Four of these studies were included in qualitative synthesis to bring the total to 13 studies. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary study outcome was the h-index. Results: The meta-analysis included 10 665 North American unique academic physicians across 9 different studies from the years 2009 to 2018. Of the 10 665 physicians, 2655 (24.89%) were women. Summary effect sizes for mean h-indexes of men and women and mean h-index difference between men and women were determined for all faculty physicians and at each academic rank. Overall, female faculty had lower h-indexes than male faculty (mean difference, -4.09; 95% CI, -5.44 to -2.73; P < .001). When adjusting for academic rank, female faculty still had lower h-indexes than male faculty at the ranks of assistant professor (mean difference, -1.3; 95% CI, -1.90 to -0.72; P < .001), associate professor (mean difference, -2.09; 95% CI, -3.40 to -0.78; P = .002), and professor (mean difference, -3.41; 95% CI, -6.24 to -0.58; P = .02). Conclusions and Relevance: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, women had lower h-indexes than men across most specialties and at all academic ranks, but it is unclear why these differences exist. These findings suggest that future investigation should be conducted regarding the causes of lower h-indexes in women and that interventions should be developed to provide a more equitable environment for all physicians regardless of sex.

Fertility Desire in HIV/AIDS Research During 1992-2019: A Systematic Text Mining of Global Literature.

There has been an increase of fertility desire among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) thanks to the advancement of HIV treatment and prevention of mother-to-children transmission programs. However, the development of research focusing on this topic over the past three decades is not well documented. We aimed to explore the trend of global publications regarding fertility desires among PLWH and identify their contents through the natural language processing technique. Dataset from 1992 to 2019 was downloaded using the Web of Science Core Collection. Bibliometric indicators such as change in total publications, citations, and countries' collaboration were examined. Main topics of selected publications were determined using the latent Dirichlet allocation. There were 303 articles published during the period 1992-2019, with a rapid increase in the number of publications in the past 5 years. Common themes included determinants of fertility desire, HIV prevention for adolescents, and safer conception for couples affected with HIV. However, publications on HIV care and antenatal care for women with HIV had been still limited. Findings suggested a call for the future support and collaborations for fertility intention, as well as the promotion of HIV care and service for adolescents and pregnant women with HIV, especially in countries with poor resources and a high burden of HIV/AIDS.

Global Mapping of Interventions to Improve the Quality of Life of People Living with HIV/AIDS: Implications for Priority Settings.

Enhancing the quality of life (QOL) of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) has become a significant global health goal, as combination antiretroviral therapy has helped to transform HIV/AIDS from a fatal illness to chronic disease. In this study, we aim to comprehensively describe the growth of research publications and the development of research landscapes regarding interventions to improve QOL among PLWH, as well as to characterize interdisciplinary topics and emerging interests of the research community. English articles and reviews published from 1991 to 2018 concerning interventions to improve QOL among PLWHA were retrieved from the Web of Science. Collaboration among organizations sharing coauthorships and co-occurrence network of authors' keywords was illustrated through network graphs. Latent Dirichlet Allocation was used for classifying papers into corresponding topics. A total of 2304 publications were included in the study. The USA continues to lead in research productivity, followed by South Africa, China, and India. Emerging research themes were found to be the application of multilevel interventions and long-term care, rehabilitation, along with topics relating to mental health issues, behavioral therapy and social supports for patients receiving treatments, and application of e-health approaches in designing and implementing interventions. There has been, however, a modest appearance of topics covering local, cultural, and environmental contexts of interventions. The findings of the study suggest expanding the coverage of psychosocial, behavioral, and contextualized interventions, increasing the involvement of family and community, improving the effectiveness of technology-based and e-health interventions, and developing strategies for lifelong treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Psychological distress among mountainous farmers in Vietnam: a cross-sectional study of prevalence and associated factors.

BACKGROUND: Psychological distress has been known as a major health problem among farmers across the world. In Vietnam, approximately 50% of farmers have lived in rural and mountainous areas. Yet, little has been known about how psychological distress impacts mountainous farmers' health. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the prevalence and risk factors related to psychological distress among mountainous farmers in Vietnam. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study was performed from August to September 2018 in Moc Chau district, Vietnam. A structured questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were used for data collection. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 197 farmers aged at least 18 years, spoke Vietnamese, was not suffering from severe diseases and residing in Moc Chau at the time of the survey were recruited. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was employed to measure psychological distress. The tobit and logistic regressions were applied to indicate associated factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychological distress was 38.2% (95% CI 31.3% to 45.5%). Having a greater comorbidities (OR=6.17; 95% CI 1.44 to 26.43), drinking alcohol (OR=3.86; 95% CI 1.02 to 14.59) and obtaining health information from health workers (OR=3.77; 95% CI 1.22 to 11.66) were positively associated with the prevalence of psychological distress. By contrast, being overweight (OR=0.29; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.93), adopting books as the primary source of health information (OR=0.11; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.8), and receiving a higher number of home visits by community health workers (CHWs) (OR=0.38; 95% CI 0.14 to 0.99) were negatively associated with the prevalence of psychological distress. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted a high prevalence of psychological distress among mountainous farmers. Providing routine psychological and physical health screening, developing CHWs to provide clinical support and raising health awareness are critical implications for reducing psychological distress in this population.

Global mapping of interventions to improve the quality of life of patients with cardiovascular diseases during 1990-2018.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the global health problems that cause a substantial burden for the patients and the society. Assessing the Quality of Life (QOL) of CVD patients is critical in the effectiveness evaluation of CVD treatments as well as in determining potential areas for enhancing health outcomes. Through the adoption of a combination of bibliometric approach and content analysis, publications trend and the common topics regarding interventions to improve QOL of CVD patients were searched and characterized to inform priority setting and policy development. METHODS: Bibliographic data of publications published from 1990 to 2018 on interventions to improve QOL of CVD patients were retrieved from Web of Science. Network graphs illustrating the terms co-occurrence clusters were created by VOSviewer software. Latent Dirichlet Allocation approach was adopted to classify papers into major research topics. RESULTS: A total of 6457 papers was analyzed. We found a substantial increase in the number of publications, citations, and the number of download times of papers in the last 5 years. There has been a rise in the number of papers related to intervention to increase quality of life among patients with CVD during 1990-2018. Conventional therapies (surgery and medication), and psychological, behavioral interventions were common research topics. Meanwhile, the number of papers evaluating economic effectiveness has not been as high as that of other topics. CONCLUSIONS: The research areas among the scientific studies emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral approaches in both evaluation and intervention. Future research should be a focus on economic evaluation of intervention as well as interventions to reduce mental issues among people with CVD.

How have excessive electronics devices and Internet uses been concerned? Implications for global research agenda from a bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Excessive use of electronic devices has become a major global problem. However, little is known about the development and current landscape of research concerning this field. This study aimed at exploring the overall publication trend and topics of research on the overuse of electronic devices and the Internet from 1971 to 2017. METHODS: We systematically searched the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases for published articles on the excessive use of electronic devices and the Internet. Data regarding the publication volume, international collaborations, and geographical locations were analyzed by bibliometrics analysis. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was undertaken to categorize publications into different research topics. RESULTS: A total of 2,276 papers from the WOS and 600 papers from the Scopus were included. We found a dramatic increase in the number of scientific papers towards addiction to electronic devices and the Internet. The United State led in all publication parameters including the total number of papers and total citations. China, Korea and Taiwan were among the most prolific countries/regions. Smartphone addiction was the main concern, and the relationship between the overuse of electronic devices and the Internet and mental health issues have been highlighted. On the other hand, our study found a limited appearance of discussion on effective treatment and intervention. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The findings of this study call for more national and international cooperation in evaluating and intervening addiction to electronic devices and the Internet to gather more knowledge about this phenomenon and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.

Studies of Novel Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Global Analysis of Literature.

Novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a global threat to millions of lives. Enormous efforts in knowledge production have been made in the last few months, requiring a comprehensive analysis to examine the research gaps and to help guide an agenda for further studies. This study aims to explore the current research foci and their country variations regarding levels of income and COVID-19 transmission features. This textual analysis of 5780 publications extracted from the Web of Science, Medline, and Scopus databases was performed to explore the current research foci and propose further research agenda. The Latent Dirichlet allocation was used for topic modeling. Regression analysis was conducted to examine country variations in the research foci. Results indicate that publications are mainly contributed by the United States, China, and European countries. Guidelines for emergency care and surgical, viral pathogenesis, and global responses in the COVID-19 pandemic are the most common topics. There is variation in the research approaches to mitigate COVID-19 problems in countries with different income and transmission levels. Findings highlighted the need for global research collaborations among high- and low/middle-income countries in the different stages of pandemic prevention and control.

Interventions to Improve the Quality of Life of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Global Mapping During 1990-2018.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been considered a significant health challenge globally in recent years, which affects different aspects of the quality-of-life (QoL). A review was conducted of research output, research topics, and landscape to have a global view of the papers mentioning the interventions to increase QoL of patients with COPD. A total of 3242 research items from Web of Science during the period 1990-2018 were downloaded and analyzed. Analyses based on the different levels of data and methods using using VOSviewer software tool (version 1.16.15, Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands) and Latent Dirichlet allocation. By exploring the trends in research productivity and topics, an increase was found in the number of papers mentioning non-pharmacological interventions as well as mental health illness and QoL among patients with COPD. In conclusion, the research on the interventions to increase the QoL of patients with COPD has attracted scientists globally. It is suggested that more research should be conducted on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological therapies to increase QoL of patients with COPD that can be applied broadly in the community. The collaboration and support from developed countries to developing countries are needed to increase the QoL of people living with COPD.

Intention to Pay for HPV Vaccination among Women of Childbearing Age in Vietnam.

The intention to pay for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among women of childbearing age in Vietnam, where cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern, has been mostly lacking. To examine this issue, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 807 pregnant women in an urban and a rural district (Dong Da and Ba Vi) of Hanoi, Vietnam. The vast percentage of our respondents expressed a firm intention to vaccinate, especially women in rural areas (over 90.0%). However, on being informed of the current price of the HPV vaccine, their intention to vaccinate dropped to about one-fifth of overall respondents, i.e., only 4.4% of women in rural areas. It was also observed that the initial intention to get the HPV vaccination among women in the rural district was about ten times higher than that of women living in the metropolitan district. Those participants who had greater knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccinations also had a significantly higher intention to vaccinate. Our findings underscore the need to develop a well-designed vaccination program in Vietnam and other countries in a similar situation to increase the adoption of HPV vaccination.

Global Mapping of Research Trends on Interventions to Improve Health-Related Quality of Life in Asthma Patients.

Globally, approximately 335 million people are being affected by asthma. Given that asthma is a chronic airway condition that cannot be cured, the disease negatively impacts physical health and results in losses of productivity of people experiencing asthma, leading to decrease in quality of life. This study aims at demonstrating the research trends worldwide and identifying the research gaps in interventions for improving quality of life of patients with asthma. Bibliometric approach and content analysis, which can objectively evaluate the productivity and research landscapes in this field, were utilized. In this study, we systematically quantified the development of research landscapes associated with interventions for improving quality of life of people experiencing asthma. Along with the gradual growth in the number of publications, these research topics have relatively expanded in recent years. While the understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of asthma has been well-established, recent research has showed high interest in the control and management of asthma. Findings of this study suggest the need for more empirical studies in developing countries and further investigation into the effects of environment factors on asthma outcomes, as well as the economic burden of asthma.

Global mapping of interventions to improve quality of life of patients with depression during 1990-2018.

PURPOSE: The number of patients with depressive disordered globally increased and affects people of all ages and countries and has a significant and negative impact on the quality of life (QoL). Depression if left untreated may lead to severe consequences. However, there are several types of effective treatments, but often patients need support from health staff to find suitable treatments. This study aims to examine the global trend of the publications as well as the development of interventions for depressing treatment. METHODS: We download and analyzed 15,976 scientific research from the Web of Science from 1990 to 2018. A text mining based on Latent Dirichlet and terms' co-occurrence in titles and abstracts to identify hidden research topics and research landscapes. RESULTS: We found that the number of papers related to non-pharmacological treatment (such as cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, or family and social support) to improve the QoL of patients with depression has increased. The number of papers on this serious health issue in low-middle income countries (LMICs) was not as high as in high-income countries (HICs). CONCLUSION: It is necessary to increase support of the treatment of depression in LMICs as well as applied non-pharmacological interventions to patients with depression.

Treatment adherence amongst drug users attending public and private methadone maintenance clinics in a northern province of Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been proven to be effective in improving health status and the quality of life of illicit drug users. Due to the quick expand of methadone program, socialization through co-payment service is a critical to the success of it. In Nam Dinh, Vietnam, MMT has been used in public clinics and one private clinic. Such effectiveness of this treatment has been found to depend largely on adherence to treatment. This study aims to explore the compliance rate and its influencing factors among drug users between public and private clinics in Nam Dinh province, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 395 participants from January to September in 2018 in three MMT clinics in Nam Dinh, Vietnam. We applied the convenience sampling technique to recruit respondents. Data on socioeconomics characteristics, MMT adherence (measured by Visual Analogue Scale - VAS) and level of social/family support were collected. RESULTS: 43.3% of participants reported complete adherence to the MMT program during the time of research. Significant factors affect MMT adherence among illicit drug users including family income, history of drug rejections, concurrence in drug usage, far distance from MMT clinics, and having only peer. Patients in MMT private clinic had higher complete adherence than that of public MMT (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.13; 2.94). Having contacts with peer drug users associated with a higher rate of incomplete adherence (OR = 2.83, 95% CI = 1.39; 5.73). CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the establishment of private MMT clinics alongside public ones, while further researches to determine the optimal dose and ways to reduce the impact of peer drug user's influence are encouraged to be conducted.