The roles of, activities of, and competencies for, community nursing services in rural Vietnam: Implications for policy decisions.

Community health workforce plays a vital role in providing primary health care services as per the needs of residents; however, few studies have examined how nurses work within commune health centers (CHCs). Using qualitative methods including interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders, this study explores the roles, activities, and competencies required of community nursing services in rural districts within Vietnam. Two primary roles were identified: CHC nursing and family nursing. For the latter, in addition to providing people with general health care and health communication, they were expected to also deliver psychological care. CHC nursing fulfilled more roles and required four specific competencies: clinical care, communication, management, and planning/coordination activities. Despite these various roles serving people within a community, few ongoing efforts at either the local or national level are aimed at supporting these nurses. The study highlights the need for policy decisions via either developing a new job position policy or adapting the existing policy by integrating new roles into the existing positions of CHC nurses in Vietnam.

Patient satisfaction with health care services at a national institute of ophthalmology.

Little is known about how patients in developing countries, such as Vietnam, are satisfied with eye care services. The purpose of this study was to assess the satisfaction with health services and its associated factors among patients attending a national institute of ophthalmology in Vietnam. In a cross-sectional study utilizing quantitative methods, 500 inpatients and their relatives attending a national institute of ophthalmology in Vietnam were approached for data collection. The results indicated that under 50% of the patients were satisfied with eye care services. However, when classified by level of satisfaction, only 6.8% were very satisfied with all domains of care. There was no significant difference in satisfaction by gender and income, while significant differences by department, residence, and education were found. Patients who were from rural areas, were better educated, and used the services of the glaucoma department, were more satisfied with eye care than those from urban areas, were less educated, and used the services of treatment-on-demand department. Multivariable regression detected 2 main factors, gender and location, associated with patient satisfaction. Patients who were female and came from rural and remote areas were more likely to be satisfied than patients who were male and living in urban areas. The study suggests that to continue to improve health care quality, it is important to eliminate differences in providing eye care services regardless of whether patients are male or female, and whether they come from a rural or urban area.