Homosexuality stigma and HIV risk behaviors among HIV-negative men who have sex with men in Vietnam.

Stigma toward homosexuality plays an important role in the increased risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study describes associations between three dimensions of homosexuality-related stigma (enacted, perceived and internalized) and HIV risk behaviors among HIV-negative MSM in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 1675 HIV-negative MSM were recruited from the baseline of a cohort study from 2017 to 2019 through respondent-driven, time-location and internet-based sampling strategies.

Doxycycline prophylaxis for bacterial sexually transmitted infection prevention in Vietnam: awareness, attitudes and willingness to use among men who have sex with men using HIV-PrEP.

Objectives: Doxycycline prophylaxis shows promise for bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, but data primarily come from high-income countries. This study assessed awareness, willingness and factors associated with willingness to use doxycycline for bacterial STI prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM) using HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV-PrEP) in Vietnam.

Methods: Between 25 January and 4 February 2024, a cross-sectional study recruited males aged ≥18 years who reported having sex with men in the past 12 months from 11 HIV-PrEP clinics in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Validation of the alcohol, smoking and substance involvement screening test (ASSIST) for identifying methamphetamine use among people on methadone maintenance treatment in Vietnam.

Background And Aims: Identifying those who use methamphetamine or are at high risk of using methamphetamine is essential so that early, appropriate intervention can be made. This study evaluated the use of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) for identifying methamphetamine use among people on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Vietnam.

Methods: From June 2021 to May 2023, all people on MMT at 15 methadone clinics in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were invited to participate in this study.

Agingassociated challenges to persons living with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam: integrated perspectives from multiple stakeholders.

This study examined the aging-associated health and care needs among the HIV population in Vietnam, integrating perspectives from healthcare professionals, PLWH, and their caregivers. Qualitative data were collected through five focus group interviews involving ten PLWH, nine caregivers, and eight healthcare providers in Hanoi, Vietnam, in March 2023. Thematic analyses uncovered recurring patterns and themes across the three participant groups.

Preferences and Acceptability of Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections in an HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Clinic in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Background: Men who have sex with men using HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis are a vulnerable population with a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Self-collection of specimens could improve STI testing, yet implementation in low-resource settings is limited. The study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of self-collection for STI testing and to understand STI testing preferences among Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis clients in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of oral Neisseria from men on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) is an urgent global health concern. Commensal Neisseria species in the oropharynx are an important reservoir of AMR genes that are transferred to N.

Tracking modifications to implementation strategies: a case study from SNaP - a hybrid type III randomized controlled trial to scale up integrated systems navigation and psychosocial counseling for PWID with HIV in Vietnam.

Introduction: Evaluation of implementation strategies is core to implementation trials, but implementation strategies often deviate from the original plan to adjust to the real-world conditions. The optimal approach to track modifications to implementation strategies is unclear, especially in low-resource settings. Using data from an implementation trial for people who inject drugs (PWID) with HIV in Vietnam, we describe the tracking of implementation strategy modifications and present findings of this process.

Routine Testing for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in an HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Program in Hanoi, Vietnam: Implications for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence, anatomical distribution, and correlates of (NG) and (CT) infections within an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Design: Cross-sectional, observational study.

Methods: Between January-December 2022, HIV PrEP program clients who were male at birth, ≥16 years old, reported ≥1 male sex partner in the prior 12 months, were enrolled.

Applying machine learning in screening for Down Syndrome in both trimesters for diverse healthcare scenarios.

Background: This paper describes the development of low-cost, effective, non-invasive machine learning-based prediction models for Down Syndrome in the first two trimesters of pregnancy in Vietnam. These models are adaptable to different situations with limited screening capacities at community-based healthcare facilities.

Method: Ultrasound and biochemical testing alone and in combination, from both trimesters were employed to build prediction models based on k-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and Extreme Gradient Boosting algorithms.

Mycoplasma genitalium Infections Among Participants in an HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Program in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Background: Mycoplasma genitalium causes a sexually transmitted infection and is also emerging as an important antimicrobial resistant pathogen. Data on M. genitalium infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) in low-resource settings are sparse.

Shift from a Zero-COVID strategy to a New-normal strategy for controlling SARS-COV-2 infections in Vietnam.

The aim of this study is to analyse the changing patterns in the transmission of COVID-19 in relation to changes in Vietnamese governmental policies, based on epidemiological data and policy actions in a large Vietnamese province, Bac Ninh, in 2021. Data on confirmed cases from January to December 2021 were collected, together with policy documents. There were three distinct periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bac Ninh province during 2021.

Stigma experienced by people living with HIV who are on methadone maintenance treatment and have symptoms of common mental disorders in Hanoi, Vietnam: a qualitative study.

Background: Stigma around human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), injection drug use (IDU), and mental health disorders can be co-occurring and have different impacts on the well-being of people living with HIV (PWH) who use drugs and have mental health disorders. This stigma can come from society, health professionals, and internalized stigma. A person who has more than one health condition can experience overlapping health-related stigma and levels of stigma which can prevent them from receiving necessary support and healthcare, serving to intensify their experience with stigma.

Adaptation of a Problem-solving Program (Friendship Bench) to Treat Common Mental Disorders Among People Living With HIV and AIDS and on Methadone Maintenance Treatment in Vietnam: Formative Study.

Background: The prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs) among people living with HIV and people who inject drugs is high worldwide and in Vietnam. However, few evidence-informed CMD programs for people living with HIV who inject drugs have been adapted for use in Vietnam. We adapted the Friendship Bench (FB), a problem-solving therapy (PST)-based program that was successfully implemented among patients with CMDs in primary health settings in Zimbabwe and Malawi for use among people living with HIV on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) with CMDs in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Drug Harm Reduction in Vietnam: A Review of Stakeholders' Perspectives and Implications for Future Interventions.

To determine how harm reduction should be applied in low-resource countries such as Vietnam by exploring the perspectives of people who use drugs (PWUD), health care professionals, and policymakers regarding methadone treatment and harm reduction strategies. We conducted 2 qualitative studies in Vietnam between 2016 and 2021. We interviewed 62 PWUD and 22 experts in drug policy development and drug treatment programs, conducted observations at methadone clinics and harm reduction program meetings, and analyzed drug policy documents.

How has the COVID-19 epidemic affected the risk behaviors of people who inject drugs in a city with high harm reduction service coverage in Vietnam? A qualitative investigation.

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak disproportionally affects vulnerable populations including people who inject drugs (PWID). Social distancing and stay-at-home orders might result in a lack of access to medical and social services, poorer mental health, and financial precariousness, and thus, increases in HIV and HCV risk behaviors. This article explores how the HIV/HCV risk behaviors of PWID in Haiphong, a city with high harm reduction service coverage in Vietnam, changed during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what shaped such changes, using the risk environment framework.

Trends in antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Hanoi, Vietnam, 2017-2019.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an emerging global health threat. Surveillance of AMR in N. gonorrhoeae in the Western Pacific Region is important, as resistant strains have typically emerged from this region.

Decreased Cephalosporin Susceptibility of Oropharyngeal Neisseria Species in Antibiotic-using Men Who Have Sex With Men in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Background: Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections are a global health burden. NG resistance to cephalosporins, which is increasingly reported, is an imminent threat to public health. Many hypothesize that commensal Neisseria species are an important reservoir for genetic material conferring antimicrobial resistance in NG; however, clinical data are lacking.

Acceptability and feasibility of sexually transmissible infection screening among pregnant women in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Unlabelled: Background Vietnam currently has no antenatal screening program for curable sexually transmissible infections (STIs). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of curable STIs, correlates of infections and assess the acceptability and feasibility of antenatal STI screening in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Methods: A study involving 800 pregnant women visiting Ha Dong Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam from June 2016 to July 2017, was conducted.

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV/ AIDS patients in the context of early treatment initiation in Vietnam.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the antiretroviral therapy (ART) compliance among patients with HIV/AIDS and its associated factors in the context of universal ART initiation in Vietnam.

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five ART clinics located in three provinces, such as Hanoi, Thanh Hoa, and Lao Cai, from July to September 2017. Overall, adherence to ART in the last month was measured using a 100-point Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Outcomes of compulsory detention compared to community-based voluntary methadone maintenance treatment in Vietnam.

Introduction: In Vietnam, like many countries in East and Southeast Asia, the government has invested heavily in center-based compulsory treatment (CCT) as the mainstay demand reduction strategy for illicit drug use. This approach has been criticised on human rights grounds. Meanwhile, community-based voluntary methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been implemented for nearly a decade with promising results.