Second-Hand Smoking Prevalence in Vietnamese Population Aged 15 and older: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Second-hand smoking (SHS) is associated with many health problems. However, its prevalence in the community population aged 15 years and older in Vietnam is unknown. Objectives: To quantify the prevalence of SHS in Vietnamese communities aged 15 and above. Methods: This is a meta-analysis that reviewed studies of the prevalence of SHS in Vietnam published in MEDLINE, Scopus, Pubmed and the WHO library database between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019. MedCalc was used to perform all the analyses, and publication bias was determined using funnel plots and Egger regression asymmetry tests. Q-test and I2 statistic were used to identify heterogeneity across studies. Results: There were 7 articles that met our inclusion criteria 2 surveys at the national level, 3 Cross-sectional studies and 2 Case-control studies) involving 184 921 participants. According to the meta-analysis, the overall random-effects pooled prevalence of SHS was 54.6% (95% CIs: 44.900-64.154) with a high level of heterogeneity (P = .0001, Q = 2245.60, I 2 = 99.73%). It is noteworthy that the pooled prevalence of SHS rose throughout the course of the survey years. Our research found no evidence of publication bias. Conclusions: Vietnam has ratified the implementation the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004, there are still a large number of people who are adversely impacted by SHS. Given the tremendous cost that SHS imposes on health systems, our results underscore the critical need for the Vietnamese government to expedite an implementation of a set of stronger tobacco control practices, thus reducing the incidence of smoking-related illnesses and fatalities.

Knowledge of safe sex and sexually transmitted infections among high school students, Vientiane Prefecture, Lao PDR.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent knowledge of safe sex and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can reduce the risk of STIs as well as unplanned pregnancies. OBJECTIVE: To describe the knowledge of safe sex and STIs and to identify related factors among high school students in Vientiane Prefecture, Lao PDR. METHOD: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted at one high school from January to February 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from respondents. The questionnaires were completed by 337 respondents who were selected by stratified random sampling. The data collected were entered into and analysed using EpiData and Stata 13.0 software. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to determine the factors associated with knowledge of safe sex and STIs. RESULTS: The results showed that nearly half of the participants (49.5%) had a good knowledge of safe sex and 51.9% of the respondents had a good knowledge of STIs. Significant positive associations were shown between knowledge of safe sex by students living with other people, those who had studied family planning and had religious beliefs reflecting acceptance to using birth control. Other factors positively associated with knowledge of STIs were students being in Grade 10, and who had studied STIs including HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSION: In this study, approximately half of the participants were aware of safe sex and had knowledge of STIs. There is a need to have comprehensive sexual education, particularly emphasising family planning, STIs, and HIV/AIDS for all grades in school.

Water Supply, Sanitation, and Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal at Commune Health Centers in Vietnam.

Water hygiene, sanitation, and proper management of health care wastes at health care facilities are important in preventing infections and improving health and the environment. This article describes the access to safe water and sanitation facilities and the disposal of medical wastes at commune health centers (CHCs) in Vietnam. Data was extracted from the 2015 World Bank Vietnam District and Commune Health Facility Survey. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify associations of CHCs' access to improved water and sanitation and their medical waste management. Overall, 72.76% CHCs had access to both improved water and sanitation facilities, and better access was found in the richest communes. Rural CHCs had higher prevalence of appropriate wastewater treatment. The majority of CHCs combusted medical solid wastes by specialized incinerations, contracted out with sanitation companies, or transported them to district health centers. However, the data was insufficient to give in-depth analysis and conclusion on water and sanitation conditions and the management of medical wastes at CHCs. More information should be collected for further analysis and conclusion.

Tobacco Access and Availability for Vietnamese School Children (aged 13-15): Results from the Global Youth Tobacco Use Survey (GYTS) 2014 in Viet Nam.

Efforts to reduce tobacco use among school children need to be based on understanding of access to cigarettes by these subjects because previous studies indicated that enforcement of laws for controlling tobacco sales seems to not affect teen/school children because they can obtain cigarettes from different sources. This paper aims to describe access to and availability of cigarettes among school students (aged 13-15 years old) according to the data from GYTS Vietnam 2014. In GYTS, a national school-based survey of students of grades 8-10, our findings showed that about 15% school children are current smokers who smoke at home, and that they could easily buy cigarettes from stores (63.2%), or someone else (27.8%), or street vendors (9%). Notably, over 85% of school children answered that they were not refused because of their age. This high percentage was nearly the same in the North (85.7%), the Centre (92.5%), and the South (89.7%) of Viet Nam. These findings show that it is quite easy for school children to obtain cigarettes and this is a crucial challenge for policy makers aiming to reduce tobacco use among youth in general and school-age students in particular.

An analysis of interprovincial migration in Vietnam from 1989 to 2009.

Background: In Vietnam, reports either present general patterns of internal migration or the migration characteristics of specific subgroups. Reports are often based on small numbers and do not examine the relationships between socioeconomic factors and migration. Different reports classify migrant populations differently, presenting difficulties for researchers and policymakers to gain a consistent picture of migration (particularly of interprovincial migration) and limiting the ability of policymakers to plan services appropriately. This study describes the characteristics of all migrants in Vietnam, focusing on interprovincial migrants, and examines age and sex trends and correlations among in-migration, urbanization, and individual income.Methods: We analyzed data from the 15% sample survey in the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the 3% sample in the 1999 national census, the 5% sample in the 1989 national census, and selected data from the 2008 Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey. Logistic regression was used to identify socioeconomic factors related to migration.Results: In 2009, of 6.7 million internal migrants (approximately 6.5% of the total population), 3.4 million were interprovincial migrants. Three notable trends were observed between 1989 and 2009: (i) the total population is characterized by increasing proportions of migrants; (ii) the proportion of female migrants is growing; and (iii) the average age of migrants is decreasing. Socioeconomic factors related to interprovincial migration include provincial economic status (monthly income per capita: OR = 4.62, p = 0.005) and urbanization (proportion of urban population: OR = 3.47, p = 0.019), suggesting that provinces with high monthly income per capita and urbanization are more likely to have higher rates of in-migration.Conclusion: These findings reflect the effects of unequally growing labor markets in Vietnamese provinces on migration, and are suggestive of infrastructure improvements and public service needs in these areas. Analysis of migration can provide useful information for planning health and social services and for policymaking for national economic development.

Genetic variation in the VP7 gene of rotavirus G1P[8] strains isolated in Vietnam, 1998-2009.

Group A rotavirus genotype G1P[8] is the most common strain affecting humans around the world over the past few decades. In this study, we examined genetic variation in the VP7 gene of rotavirus G1P[8] strains, detected in children of four major cities of Vietnam during three different rotavirus seasons: 1998-1999, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 in order to assess the evolution of the virus over 11 years. Fecal samples (n=73) from children hospitalized for gastroenteritis caused by G1P[8] rotavirus were analyzed by DNA sequencing of gene 9 encoding the VP7 capsid protein. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that VP7 gene of the G1 strains from 1999 contained a lineage I, while rotaviruses from 2009 clustered in lineage II. Both of these lineages were found co-circulating in 2007-2008 season. While different sublineages of lineage I and II co-circulated in the 1998-1999 and 2007-2008 seasons, almost all strains in 2009 belonged to sub-lineage II-C. In the analysis using selected 10 strains, the VP4 genes of these 2 VP7-G1 lineages were all grouped in F45-like cluster. Deduced amino acid analyses indicated that there were thirteen amino acid substitutions between strains of two lineages. Of those, two were found in antigenic regions A and C, implying possible antigenic differences between these two lineages. The G1P[8] strains in Vietnam are very genetically diverse and dynamic, implying the frequent monitoring on evolution of rotavirus will be important to assess efficacy of rotavirus vaccine in Vietnam.