Levofloxacin for the Prevention of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Vietnam.

Background: Prevention of drug-resistant tuberculosis is a global health priority. However, trials evaluating the effectiveness of treating infection among contacts of persons with drug-resistant tuberculosis are lacking.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial comparing 6 months of daily levofloxacin (weight-based doses) with placebo to treat infection.

Recurrence of tuberculosis among patients following treatment completion in eight provinces of Vietnam: A nested case-control study.

Background: Patients completing treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in high-prevalence settings face a risk of developing recurrent disease. This has important consequences for public health, given its association with drug resistance and a poor prognosis. Previous research has implicated individual factors such as smoking, alcohol use, HIV, poor treatment adherence, and drug resistant disease as risk factors for recurrence.

Video Directly Observed Therapy to support adherence with treatment for tuberculosis in Vietnam: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Ensuring patients fully adhere to their treatment is a major challenge for TB control programmes in resource-limited settings. This study was conducted three outpatient tuberculosis clinics in Hanoi, Vietnam. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using asynchronous Video Directly Observed Therapy (VDOT) to support treatment adherence among patients with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis.

Effect of health expenses on household capabilities and resource allocation in a rural commune in Vietnam.

Background: Significant health expenses can force households to reduce consumption of items required for daily living and long-term well-being, depriving them of the capability to lead economically stable and healthy lives. Previous studies of out-of-pocket (OOP) and other health expenses have typically characterized them as "catastrophic" in terms of a threshold level or percentage of household income. We aim to re-conceptualize the impact of health expenses on household "flourishing" in terms of "basic capabilities.

Impact of health insurance on health care treatment and cost in Vietnam: a health capability approach to financial protection.

We applied an alternative conceptual framework for analyzing health insurance and financial protection grounded in the health capability paradigm. Through an original survey of 706 households in Dai Dong, Vietnam, we examined the impact of Vietnamese health insurance schemes on inpatient and outpatient health care access, costs, and health outcomes using bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. Insured respondents had lower outpatient and inpatient treatment costs and longer hospital stays but fewer days of missed work or school than the uninsured.

Coping with health care expenses among poor households: evidence from a rural commune in Vietnam.

With the 1980s "Doi Moi" economic reforms, Vietnam transitioned from state-funded health care to a privatized user fee system. Out-of-pocket payments became a major source of funding for treatments received at both public and private health facilities. We studied coping strategies used by residents of Dai Dong, a rural commune of Hanoi, for paying health care costs, assessing the effects of such costs on economic and health stability.