Knowledge, attitude, and practice on and willingness to pay for human papillomavirus vaccine: a cross-sectional study in Hanoi, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Despite its effectiveness in preventing human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the rate of uptake of the HPV vaccine is low in Vietnam. This study aimed to investigate barriers related to knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) about the HPV vaccine and willingness to pay (WTP) for the vaccine among those using services in an urban vaccination clinic in Hanoi, Vietnam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a vaccination clinic of the Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health in Hanoi, Vietnam, from March to April 2016. KAP on the HPV vaccine was collected using a structured questionnaire. Double-bounded dichotomous-choice questions with open-ended questions were used to examine the WTP of respondents. Interval regression and stepwise logistic models were used to identify factors associated with WTP and the average amount that people would be willing to pay for the vaccine. RESULTS: Of 492 vaccination service users, 67.9%, 94.6%, and 12.3% of respondents were aware of the best age for HPV vaccination, its benefits, and the target group for vaccination, respectively. While the majority believed that the HPV vaccine was safe (92.8%) and effective (90.8%), and desired to be vaccinated (71.1%), only 31.8% of users were vaccinated. Most of the respondents were willing to pay for the HPV vaccine (86.6%), and willing to pay an average amount of US$49.3. Those aged 20-29 years and earning more than 22 million VND/month (very rich) were more likely to pay for the HPV vaccine than people aged <20 years and earning <7 million VND/month. Users who had attained more than a high-school education and heard about the HPV vaccine from doctors, nurses, or other health professionals tended to be willing to pay for the vaccine at a lower price than individuals with below secondary-level education and who had not heard about the vaccine from these health professionals. CONCLUSION: Sexual health education and financial assistance should be imparted alongside the HPV vaccination program.

Concurrent drug use among methadone maintenance patients in mountainous areas in northern Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES: With the rise in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) for drug users in Vietnam, there has been growing interest in understanding if and how often MMT patients engage in concurrent illicit drug use while on methadone therapy in various settings. This study examined factors associated with concurrent opioid use among patients on MMT in a mountainous area in Vietnam. SETTING: One urban and one rural MMT clinics in Tuyen Quang province. PARTICIPANTS: Survey participants consisted of patients who were taking MMT at the selected study sites. A convenience sampling approach was used to recruit the participants. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked a series of questions about their socioeconomic status, current alcohol and tobacco use, health problems (measured by the EuroQol-Five Dimension-Five Level instrument), psychological distress (measured by Kessler score), and factors associated with current and/or previous drug use. Regression models were used to determine factors associated with concurrent drug use among MMT patients. RESULTS: Among the 241 male MMT patients included in the study, 13.4% reported concurrent opioid use. On average, the longer patients had been enrolled in MMT, the less likely they were to concurrently use drugs. Conversely, patients with higher levels of psychological distress were more likely to engage in concurrent drug use while on MMT. CONCLUSION: Longer duration of MMT was significantly correlated with reduced illicit drug use among participants. Higher levels of psychological distress were associated with increased use of illicit drugs among MMT patients. Regardless of distance, long-term MMT is still effective and should be expanded in mountainous areas.

A study on the influence of internet addiction and online interpersonal influences on health-related quality of life in young Vietnamese.

BACKGROUND: Internet addiction (IA) is a common problem found in young Asians. This study aimed to study the influence of IA and online activities on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in young Vietnamese. This study also compared the frequencies of anxiety, depression and other addiction of young Vietnamese with and without IA. METHODS: This study recruited 566 young Vietnamese (56.7% female, 43.3% male) ranging from 15 to 25 years of age via the respondent-driven sampling technique. Chi-squared, t-test and analysis of variance were used to compare young Vietnamese with and without IA. Regression analyses were used to examine the association between internet usage characteristics and HRQOL. RESULTS: Results from this cross-sectional study showed that 21.2% of participants suffered from IA. Online relationship demonstrated significantly higher influences on behaviors and lifestyles in participants with IA than those without IA. Participants with IA were more likely to have problems with self-care, difficulty in performing daily routine, suffer from pain and discomfort, anxiety and depression. Contrary to previous studies, we found that there were no differences in gender, sociodemographic, the number of participants with cigarette smoking, water-pipe smoking and alcohol dependence between the IA and non-IA groups. IA was significantly associated with poor HRQOL in young Vietnamese. CONCLUSION: IA is a common problem among young Vietnamese and the prevalence of IA is the highest as compared to other Asian countries. Our findings suggest that gender may not play a key role in IA. This can be an emerging trend when both genders have equal access to the internet. By studying the impact of IA on HRQOL, healthcare professionals can design effective intervention to alleviate the negative consequences of IA in Vietnam.

Global Outreach of a Locally-Developed Mobile Phone App for Undergraduate Psychiatry Education.

BACKGROUND: Over the past decade, there have been massive developments in both Web-based and mobile phone technologies. Mobile phones are well accepted by students, trainees, and doctors. A review of the current literature has identified the following specialties that have used mobile phones in education: pediatrics, ophthalmology, nephrology, plastic surgery, orthopedics, pharmacology, and urology. However, to date, there are no published papers examining the application of the latest mobile phone technologies for psychiatry education internationally. OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of this study are (1) to determine the feasibility and receptiveness of a locally-developed psychiatry mobile phone app and user perspectives (both quantitative and qualitative) towards it, and (2) to determine the receptiveness of a locally-developed app for psychiatry education internationally. METHODS: A Web-based app that contained textbook contents, videos, and quizzes was developed using HTML5 technologies in 2012. Native apps were subsequently developed in 2013. Information about the apps was disseminated locally to Singaporean medical students, but the respective native apps were made available on the app stores. A user perspective survey was conducted locally to determine student's perception of the app. RESULTS: From the inception of the app until the time of preparation of this manuscript, there have been a cumulative total of 28,500 unique visits of the responsive HTML5 Web-based mobile phone app. There have been a cumulative total of 2200 downloads of the Mastering Psychiatry app from the Apple app store and 7000 downloads of the same app from the Android app store. The initial user perspective survey conducted locally highlighted that approximately a total of 95.2% (177/186) of students felt that having a psychiatry mobile phone app was deemed to be useful. Further chi-squared analysis demonstrated that there was a significant difference between males and females in their perception of having textbook contents in the mobile phone app (χ24=12.9, P=.0012). CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the feasibility and global acceptance of a local, self-designed educational app for psychiatry education. Whilst the current research has managed to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptance of such an app, future studies would be warranted to look, in-depth, into whether there are cultural differences in terms of perceptions towards having such an app in psychiatry and what contents different cultures and cohorts of students might want within an app.