Knowledge, attitudes and self-confidence with skills required for providing dementia care in physicians at primary healthcare settings in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a global public health priority. The World Health Organization adopted a Global Action Plan on Dementia, with dementia awareness a priority. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and self-confidence with skills required for providing dementia care among primary health care providers in Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 405 primary health care providers who worked at commune health stations and district health centers in eight provinces across Vietnam. RESULTS: The results showed that primary health care providers had poor knowledge and little confidence but more positive attitudes toward dementia care and management. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the training needs for building capacity amongst primary health care providers, which will be critical as Vietnam's population ages.

Exposure to Messages on Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases in a Rural Province of Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Providing messages on risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) plays an important role in preventing disease. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated how often adults living in a rural area in northern Vietnam heard about risks factor for NCD and where they obtained that information. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a multistage stratified cluster sampling to recruit 2970 participants. Data analyses were adjusted for all variables in a two-level multilevel Poisson regression model. RESULTS: Overall, 77% of respondents had heard about NCDs, while 38.3 to 50% had been exposed to messages on risk factors of NCDs in the last month. Television, radio, and friends/neighbors were the most common sources of information. Most people exposed information no more than one or two sources. Factors associated with exposure to messages about risk were occupation, age group, education, and economic status. CONCLUSION: Intervention programs should focus on providing information primarily through television, considering influencing factors as well ensuring that messages reach target audiences.

Methanol content in homemade alcohol from a province in North Vietnam.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Methanol poisonings pose a major risk especially where illegal alcohol is consumed. The source of the methanol in the drinks are debated. We aimed to evaluate whether home distillation of alcohol made from rice was capable of producing toxic amounts of methanol. DESIGN AND METHODS: Twenty households with homemade alcohol production in Phu Tho province in Vietnam were included in this pilot study. We followed the whole production process and an alcohol sample from each household was analysed for methanol content. RESULTS: 17 (85%) of the samples contained detectable levels of methanol. The median concentration was 9 mg/L (range 2-37 mg/L). To develop clinical symptoms of methanol poisoning from the sample with the highest concentration would require drinking more than 424 L. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Homemade alcohol from rice did not contain sufficient amount of methanol to cause toxicity in our study. This supports the theory of methanol being added to ethanol post production for economical purposes as the main source of mass poisonings.