Psychological stress and associated factors among municipal solid waste collectors in Hanoi, Vietnam: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: In low and middle-income countries, the manually operated municipal waste collection system prominently depended on the performance of waste collectors (WC). Most of the literature has focused on the impact of waste collection tasks on WCs' physical health, while little was known about the psychological effects of work-related stress. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of psychological stress and related factors among waste collectors in Hanoi, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 802 WCs in 2017. The questionnaire included the 7-item Stress component of the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and questions on demographics and work conditions. Descriptive and multivariate logistics regression analyses were conducted to examine the factors related to psychological stress among WCs. RESULTS: Results showed that 13.4% of WCs reported stress symptoms; among them, 3.3% of WCs experienced severe stress. Factors related to lower odds of self-reported psychological stress included self-perceived frequent exposure to high and low temperatures in the working environment (OR = 0.51 and 0.52, respectively). Factors associated with the increased likelihood of symptoms included frequent exposure to hot/flammable objects (OR = 2.41), working a night shift in the last three months (OR = 1.82), education lever lower than high school (OR = 1.82), and having an insufficient monthly income (OR = 1.99). CONCLUSION: The high percentage of workers with severe stress implies the need for mental health prevention and treatment for WCs who participated in this study.

Measuring satisfaction with health care services for Vietnamese patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Patient satisfaction is a useful predictor of adherence and outcomes of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) treatment. This study explored the satisfaction of Vietnamese CVDs inpatients and outpatients using a scale specifically designed for CVDs patients and examined the factors associated with satisfaction towards CVDs treatment services. Interviews of 600 patients at the Hanoi Heart Hospital were conducted. We developed a measurement scale for both inpatient and outpatient services. Multivariate Tobit regression was used to determine the associated factors with patient satisfaction. For inpatients, Cronbach's alpha reported for the domains were in the range of 0.72-0.97, while for outpatients, Cronbach's alpha was within 0.61-0.97. Overall, patients were more satisfied with inpatient services (Mean = 81.8, SD = 5.8) than outpatient services (Mean = 79.7, SD = 5.2, p<0.05). In inpatients, the highest complete satisfaction was in "Attitude of Nurse" item (42.0%), the highest satisfaction score was in "Care and treatment" domain (Mean = 85.6, SD = 9.7) and the lowest in "Hospital facilities" domain (Mean = 78.3; SD = 9.2). Among outpatients, the highest complete satisfaction was in "Attitude of physicians when examining, guiding and explaining to the patient" item (19.7%), the highest satisfaction score was in "Attitude of medical staff" domain (Mean = 82.8; SD = 7.9) and the lowest in "Waiting time" domain (Mean = 76.6; SD = 8.2). People not having health insurances had significantly higher scores in "Waiting time", "Hospital facilities" and "Attitude of staff" domains (for outpatients) and in "Health service accessibility", "Hospital facilities" domains (for inpatients) as well as higher total satisfaction score than those having health insurance. Findings discovered through the application of the newly developed instrument showed low satisfaction regarding hospital facilities for inpatients and waiting time for outpatients, suggesting renovation efforts, while inferiority regarding patient satisfaction of health insurance covered patients compared to those without implied policy reform possibility. Further enhancement and validation of the developed instrument was required.