Illustrating the impact of commercial determinants of health on the global COVID-19 pandemic: Thematic analysis of 16 country case studies.

Previous research on commercial determinants of health has primarily focused on their impact on non-communicable diseases. However, they also impact on infectious diseases and on the broader preconditions for health. We describe, through case studies in 16 countries, how commercial determinants of health were visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they may have influenced national responses and health outcomes. We use a comparative qualitative case study design in selected low- middle- and high-income countries that performed differently in COVID-19 health outcomes, and for which we had country experts to lead local analysis. We created a data collection framework and developed detailed case studies, including extensive grey and peer-reviewed literature. Themes were identified and explored using iterative rapid literature reviews. We found evidence of the influence of commercial determinants of health in the spread of COVID-19. This occurred through working conditions that exacerbated spread, including precarious, low-paid employment, use of migrant workers, procurement practices that limited the availability of protective goods and services such as personal protective equipment, and commercial actors lobbying against public health measures. Commercial determinants also influenced health outcomes by influencing vaccine availability and the health system response to COVID-19. Our findings contribute to determining the appropriate role of governments in governing for health, wellbeing, and equity, and regulating and addressing negative commercial determinants of health.

Dataset of Vietnamese preschool teachers' readiness towards implementing STEAM activities and projects.

STEAM education has significant impacts on improving preschoolers' learning engagement, cognition, confidence, and innovative thinking skills. The integration of content about local culture into STEAM projects also triggers students' awareness and engagement with surrounding communities and societies. However, teachers' competencies and willingness to implement STEAM activities are irreplaceable in determining STEM projects' frequency and effectiveness. This dataset surveyed 754 preschool teachers across ten cities and provinces in Vietnam from 8 Apr 2022 to 15 May 2022. The dataset includes seven main sections: (i) Demographics; (ii) Teachers' know-how about STEAM education; (iii) Teachers' competencies; (iv) Conditions to implement STEAM projects; (v) School policies; (vi) Local culture factors integrated with STEAM projects; and (vii) Teachers' willingness to implement STEAM education.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on provision of HIV/AIDS services for key populations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the obstacles for HIV/AIDS programs in limited-resource countries like Vietnam to achieve the HIV/AIDS-related Sustainable Development target. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of HIV/AIDS services-a pathway to achieving universal health coverage for key populations (KPs). Employing mix-methods, we conducted a desk study, one focus group discussion, and ten in-depth interviews with participants from the Ministry of Health, Provincial Centres for Disease Control, and HIV/AIDS-related facilities. The results showed the reduced coverage of KPs with access to prevention (i.e., harm-reduction services, counselling), testing, and treatment services (i.e., antiretroviral therapy, isoniazid preventive therapy). It also showed the reduced coverage of quality essential services, mainly in skipping consultation and testing, delaying un-emergency services, and redirecting KPs to non-HIV-specialised facilities. There was a gap in providing support for mental health, violence/abuse, and reproductive health. Financial risk protection for KPs was reduced due to uncertain local budget allocation; decreasing their ability to pay for HIV/AIDS-related services and social health insurance premiums; and increased out-of-pocket payments to comply with the COVID-19 control measures. This paper provides recommendations for strategic planning to ensure universal health coverage for KPs in the post COVID-19 era, especially for limited-resource countries like Vietnam.

Electrochemical performance of composite electrodes based on rGO, Mn/Cu metal-organic frameworks, and PANI.

Benzendicarboxylic acid (BDC)-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely utilized in various applications, including supercapacitor electrode materials. Manganese and copper have solid diamond frames formed with BDC linkers among transition metals chosen for MOF formation. They have shown the possibility to enlarge capacitance at different combinations of MOFs and polyaniline (PANI). Herein, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was used as the matrix to fabricate electrochemical double-layer SCs. PANI and Mn/Cu-MOF's effect on the properties of electrode materials was investigated through electrochemical analysis. As a result, the highest specific capacitance of about 276 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g was obtained for rGO/Cu-MOF@PANI composite.

Correlation of magnetic and magnetoresistive properties of nanoporous Co/Pd thin multilayers fabricated on anodized TiO2 templates.

In this study, we consider a technological approach to obtain a high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the Co/Pd multilayers deposited on nanoporous TiO2 templates of different types of surface morphology. It is found that the use of templates with homogeneous and smoothed surface relief, formed on silicon wafers, ensures conservation of perpendicular anisotropy of the deposited films inherent in the continuous multilayers. Also, their magnetic hardening with doubling of the coercive field is observed. However, inhomogeneous magnetic ordering is revealed in the porous films due to the occurrence of magnetically soft regions near the pore edges and/or inside the pores. Modeling of the field dependences of magnetization and electrical resistance indicates that coherent rotation is the dominant mechanism of magnetization reversal in the porous system instead of the domain-wall motion typical of the continuous multilayers, while their magnetoresistance is determined by electron-magnon scattering, similarly to the continuous counterpart. The preservation of spin waves in the porous films indicates a high uniformity of the magnetic ordering in the fabricated porous systems due to a sufficiently regular pores array introduced into the films, despite the existence of soft-magnetic regions. The results are promising for the design and fabrication of future spintronic devices.

Complex magnetic ordering in nanoporous [Co/Pd]5-IrMn multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and its impact on magnetization reversal and magnetoresistance.

We have systematically investigated the magnetization reversal characteristics and magnetoresistance of continuous and nanoporous [Co/Pd]5-IrMn multilayered thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at different temperatures (4-300 K). For their nanostructuring, porosity was induced by means of deposition onto templates of anodized titania with small (∼30 nm in diameter) homogeneously distributed pores. The magnetization reversal and magnetoresistance of the porous films were found to be closely related to the splitting of the ferromagnetic material into regions with different magnetic properties, in correlation with the complex morphology of the porous system. Independent magnetization reversal is detected for these regions, and is accompanied by its strong impact on the magnetic order in the capping IrMn layer. Electron-magnon scattering is found to be a dominant mechanism of magnetoresistance, determining its almost linear field dependence in a high magnetic field and contributing to its magnetoresistance behavior, similar to magnetization reversal, in a low magnetic field. Partial rotation of IrMn magnetic moments, consistent with the magnetization reversal of the ferromagnet, is proposed as an explanation for the two-state resistance behavior observed in switching between high-resistive and low-resistive values at the magnetization reversal of the porous system studied.

Burden of injuries in Vietnam: emerging trends from a decade of economic achievement.

BACKGROUND: Vietnam has been one of the fastest-growing world economies in the past decade. The burden of injuries can be affected by economic growth given the increased exposure to causes of injury as well as decreased morbidity and mortality of those that experience injury. It is of interest to evaluate the trends in injury burden that occurred alongside Vietnam's economic growth in the past decade. METHODS: Results from Global Burden of Disease 2017 were obtained and reviewed. Estimates of incidence, cause-specific mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years were analysed and reported for 30 causes of injury in Vietnam from 2007 to 2017. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2017, the age-standardised incidence rate of all injuries increased by 14.6% (11.5%-18.2%), while the age-standardised mortality rate decreased by 11.6% (3.0%-20.2%). Interpersonal violence experienced the largest increase in age-standardised incidence (28.3% (17.6%-40.1%)), while exposure to forces of nature had the largest decrease in age-standardised mortality (47.1% (37.9%-54.6%)). The five leading causes of injury in both 2007 and 2017 were road injuries, falls, exposure to mechanical forces, interpersonal violence and other unintentional injuries, all of which increased in incidence from 2007 to 2017. Injury burden varied markedly by age and sex. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid expansions of economic growth in Vietnam as well as improvements in the Sociodemographic Index have occurred alongside dynamic patterns in injury burden. These results should be used to develop and implement prevention and treatment programme.

Mental health literacy: knowledge of depression among undergraduate students in Hanoi, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy (MHL) refers to an individuals' knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that aid their recognition, management, and prevention. This study aims to investigate the MHL of depression among public health and sociology undergraduate students in Hanoi, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from May to September 2015. Data was collected using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire distributed to 350 undergraduate students (213 public health majors; 137 sociology majors). Questions about MHL of depression were adapted from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma. Question topics included recognition of depression, help-seeking intentions, first-aid support, and knowledge about interventions to help people with depression. Chi squared tests were conducted to compare proportional statistics across groups for multiple measures. RESULTS: With regard to recognition of mental disorders, 32.0% of the respondents used the accurate label "depression" for the vignette. Among those who correctly identified depression, 82.1% would seek help. The corresponding statistic was 81.1% from those who did not recognize depression. Both groups would seek help from counselor, psychologist, family members, and close friends. First-aid support suggested by the respondents in both groups were informal sources (to listen to her problem in an understanding way, to encourage her to be more physically active, etc.). The interventions considered most helpful by the respondents were self-help strategies such as learning how to relax, getting physically active, doing exercise early in the morning, and reading a self-help book. Joining a group of individuals with similar problems was chosen to be a helpful intervention among those who did not recognize depression (p < 0.001), but those who correctly identify depression believed that people with depression should be admitted to hospital for psychiatric treatment (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is a need for education about MHL of depression among undergraduate students in Vietnam. The training can focus on symptoms of depression, appropriate help-seeking intentions, and first-aid support relevant to the Vietnamese context.

Mothers' willingness to pay for daughters' HPV vaccine in northern Vietnam.

HPV vaccine is effective in preventing human papillomavirus, the main cause of cervical cancer. In Vietnam, at first, it was subsidized at $5 a dose and reached the coverage of 96% in two pilot provinces, indicating potentially high acceptance. Currently, it is provided at $120-195 for three doses. This is a cross-sectional study, conducted in two northern rural districts of Vietnam. Researchers present findings to show 53.1% of mothers stated their willingness to pay (WTP) for HPV vaccine for their daughters. Perceptions on cost and condom use were associated with WTP. Mothers' affordability ranged from under $23 to $46. Measures should be implemented soon to make HPV vaccine more affordable.

Food Safety Perceptions and Practices among Smallholder Pork Value Chain Actors in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam.

Pork safety is an important public health concern in Vietnam and is a shared responsibility among many actors along the pork value chain. We examined the knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding food safety, disease, and health risk among selected pork value chain actors (slaughterhouse owners and workers, people living around slaughterhouses, pork sellers, consumers, and veterinary and public health staff) in three districts in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam. We randomly selected 52 pork value chain actors to be surveyed through questionnaires, observation checklists, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Most slaughterhouse workers acquired knowledge and experience of food safety through "learning by doing" rather than from training by a veterinary or public health professional. Both slaughterhouse worker and pork seller groups had some accurate perceptions about pig diseases and foodborne diseases; however, misperceptions of risk and, especially, of zoonoses were present. Furthermore, while workers and sellers often use cloths to dry the meat and clean equipment, they did not think this was a risk for meat contamination. Moreover, when sellers wear protective equipment, such as gloves, masks, or hats, consumers perceive that the sellers may have health issues they are trying to conceal and so consumers avoid buying from them. The perceived freshness of pork, along with trust in the seller and in the pork production process, were strong indicators of consumer preference. And yet, pork value chain actors tend to trust their own individual food safety practices more, rather than the practices of other actors along the chain. Veterinary and public health staff emphasized the gap between regulations and food safety practices. Education and training on food safety risks and proper handling are priorities, along with integrated and intensive efforts to improve food safety among pork value chain actors.