The heterogeneity of public preferences for the first healthcare visit: A discrete choice experiment in the context of Vietnam.

Primary healthcare is critical in addressing the main health problems of communities. In Vietnam, the increasing healthcare demands cause major challenges, especially overcrowding. This study identified public preferences regarding the selection of healthcare facilities for first visit. A discrete choice online survey was generated from five attributes including visit duration, travel time, personal connection with medical staff, doctors' experience, and health insurance. A Dz -efficient design constructed 36 choice sets, divided into three blocks of 12 choice sets. Each block formed one version of the questionnaire, which was randomly distributed to the participants. Heterogeneity in participant preferences was analysed by a latent class model with socio demographic characteristics and experiences of the last visit. 822 participants valued doctors' experience for both minor and severe symptoms. Preference heterogeneity for minor symptoms was quick service provision, highly experienced doctors, and payment through health insurance for the first (44.18%), second (32.17%), and third classes (23.66%), respectively. Regarding severe symptoms, they favoured all five attributes, quick health service, and reduced travel time for the first, second, and third classes, respectively (heterogeneities of 58.16%, 27.79%, and 14.05%, respectively). Predictions of choice from the worst to optimal healthcare facility scenario were 8.91%-61.91% and 10.16%-69.83% for minor and severe symptoms, respectively. Knowledge regarding public preference heterogeneity supports policymakers increase public acceptance in choosing primary healthcare facilities. Visit duration and doctors' experience should be considered a priority in decision making.

Non-surgical chronic rhinosinusitis and quality of life: A Vietnamese perspective.

OBJECTIVE: Evidences which illustrate symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) had negative effects on society and individuals are growing these days. The aims of this study are to assess the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with CRS and to analyze the relationship between socio-demographic as well as clinical factors and the quality of life of patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional and prevalence-based study was conducted from May to July, 2018. We used The Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. In addition, the univariate logistic regression analysis and logistic regression models were used to calculate the Crude odds ratio (OR), adjusted odds ratio (aOR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors. Statistical significance was considered as P-value <0.05. RESULTS: Among 315 participants, about two fifths of them were diagnosed with CRS. The statistical test illustrated that all factors illustrated significant differences. The main exposure variable, CRS, was significantly associated with poor quality of life, with a 78.02-fold increase in the odds of having a good quality of life score. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have shown that patients with CRS experience a poorer quality of life than healthy controls. The influencing factors included gender, economic status, exercise and nasal discharge.

Dengue fever in Southern of Vietnam: A survey of reported knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

OBJECTIVE: Dengue fever (DF) is an acute infectious disease with high incidence in tropical countries, such as Vietnam, where dengue prevention is a challenge for the health sector, government, and policy makers. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices in southern Vietnam and explore their relationships with the characteristics of the people. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using interviews with 1,906 urban participants and 493 rural participants in southern Vietnam in July 2018. RESULTS: The study found a lack of knowledge regarding DF symptoms, with only 37.2% having a good level of knowledge, although 57.1% had good attitudes and 56.1% had good practices. Television (85.4 %) and the internet (69.5%) were the two main sources of information, and information provided by healthcare professionals was low. Participants with good knowledge had approximately 1.7 times the probability of having a good attitude and 5.0 times the probability of having good practices of those without. Urban participants had 1.3 times the level of knowledge than those in rural areas (p = 0.025), while the quality of attitude scores of rural participants was 1.3 times (p = 0.029) that of urban participants. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in knowledge of DF, as well as in attitudes and practices toward dengue, are required, such as might be achieved through increased publicity and knowledge dissemination.