Evaluating research ethics committees in Vietnam and Laos: Results of a validated self-assessment tool.

Background: There is an increase in human subject research in developing countries and conducting them in an ethical manner depends on the research ethics oversight in these countries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the operational, financial, and educational characteristics of research ethics committees (RECs) at institutions in Vietnam and Laos.

Methods: A validated self-assessment tool designed to assess nine major characteristics of RECs was translated into Vietnamese and Laotian.

Fostering the Job Performance of Nurses: A Responsibility of an Ethical Hospital.

Introduction: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices refer to the deliberate actions and strategies implemented by a company or organization to generate positive outcomes for its stakeholders beyond the sole objective of profit maximization. Internal CSR is a significant management and investment concept within enterprises, such as hospitals, that enhances organizational performance excellence.

Objectives: The article aims to trace how hospitals thrive in nurses' job performance by leveraging internal CSR practices.

Investigating the workforce capacity and needs for animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation: a mixed-methods study of veterinary services in Vietnam.

The need for strengthening national capacities for disease prevention, preparedness, and response is increasingly becoming urgent. Central to this is strengthening existing systems and workforce capacity for disease surveillance and disease outbreak response. This study aimed to evaluate the national capacity and needs of veterinary services in Vietnam in animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation skills.

Caring During COVID-19: A Study of Intersectionality and Inequities in the Care Economy in 16 Countries.

Carers were disproportionately harmed in the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite facing an increased risk of contracting the virus, they continued in frontline roles in care services and acted as "shock absorbers" for their families and communities. In this article, we apply an intersectional lens to examine care work and the structural factors disadvantaging carers during COVID-19 through a comparative case study analysis of 16 low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Effect of COVID-19 on livelihoods of people with and without disabilities: Results from a cross-sectional survey in 3 urban areas of Viet Nam.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread health, social and economic impacts worldwide. In many contexts, it has likely exacerbated existing inequalities.

Objective: This study compares the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic amongst people with and without disabilities in Viet Nam.

A pre-post evaluation of a digital intervention to improve psychosocial outcomes of caregivers of people living with cancer in Vietnam.

Objectives: To evaluate a co-designed intervention using digital resources "Vietnam Cancer Caring Coping" (V-CCC) on the health literacy, depression, and quality of life of caregivers supporting a cancer patient in oncology hospitals in Vietnam.

Methods: A pre-post quantitative evaluation with adult cancer caregivers across regional Oncology hospitals in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, and Hue). Participants completed baseline and follow-up measures of health literacy (HLS-SF12) depression (PHQ-9) and Health-related Quality of Life (5Q-5D-5L).

An investigation into patterns of Alcohol drinking in Scotland after the introduction of minimum unit pricing.

Background: In 2018, Scotland became the second country to implement minimum unit pricing (MUP) for all types of alcoholic beverages. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the policy.

Method: Three national household-level surveys were used: Scottish Health Surveys (2008-2021), Health Surveys in England (2011-2019), and Northern Ireland Continuous Household Survey (2011-2015).

High Prevalence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: A Virus in Vietnam's Live Bird Markets.

Background: In recent years, Vietnam has suffered multiple epizootics of influenza in poultry.

Methods: From 10 January 2019 to 26 April 2021, we employed a One Health influenza surveillance approach at live bird markets (LBMs) and swine farms in Northern Vietnam. When the COVID-19 pandemic permitted, each month, field teams collected oral secretion samples from poultry and pigs, animal facility bioaerosol and fecal samples, and animal worker nasal washes at 4 LBMs and 5 swine farms across 5 sites.

Associations of COVID-19-related fear with kidney disease quality of life and its subscales among hemodialysis patients as modified by health literacy: a multi-hospital survey.

Background: Receiving hemodialysis treatment makes end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients highly vulnerable amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, their kidney disease quality of life (KDQOL) is affected. We aimed to examine the association between fear of COVID-19 (FCoV-19) and KDQOL, and the effect modification of Health literacy (HL) on this association.

Aortic Sarcoma Patients with Bone Metastasis.

Background: Metastases to the bone of aortic sarcoma include osteolytic and nonosteolytic lesions. This study aims to review the clinical symptoms, the sites, and diagnostic methods of bone metastases and to compare the osteolytic and nonosteolytic metastases of patients with aortic sarcoma.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and scientific journals published from 1972 to 2022.

Temporal Trends in Tobacco Smoking Prevalence During the Period 2010-2020 in Vietnam: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.

This study used repeated cross-sectional data from three national surveys in Vietnam to determine tobacco smoking prevalence from 2010 to 2020 and disparities among demographic and socioeconomic groups. Tobacco smoking temporal trends were estimated for individuals aged 15 and over and stratified by demographic and socioeconomic status (SES). Prevalence estimates used survey weights and 95% confidence intervals.

Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking and Risk of Cancer Mortality.

Importance: There has been an increasing trend of using noncigarette products, including waterpipe tobacco (WTP), worldwide. While cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for numerous cancers, little is known about the association between WTP smoking and cancer mortality.

Objective: To assess the association between WTP smoking and risk of cancer mortality in Vietnam.

Severity predictors for multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children after SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vietnam.

Multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) might manifest in a broad spectrum of clinical scenarios, ranging from mild features to multi-organ dysfunction and mortality. However, this novel entity has a heterogenicity of data regarding prognostic factors associated with severe outcomes. The present study aimed to identify independent predictors for severity by using multivariate regression models.

The cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected hundreds of millions of people and lives, and vaccination was the safest and most effective strategy to prevent and mitigate the burden of this disease. The implementation of COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam in 2021 was unprecedentedly challenging in scale and complexity, yet economic evidence on the cost of delivery vaccines thought the program was lacking.

Methods: This retrospective costing study utilized a bottom-up, ingredient-based approach to estimate the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam in 2021, from a payer perspective.

Cost analysis of establishing and operating the first human milk bank at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children in Vietnam: an activity-based costing ingredients study.

Background: Breastfeeding is the biological norm for feeding infants and young children. When mothers' breastmilk is unavailable, donor human milk (DHM) from a human milk bank (HMB) becomes the next option for small vulnerable newborns. A comprehensive cost analysis is essential for understanding the investments needed to establish, operate, and scale up HMBs.

The efficacy and tolerability of proteoglycan F in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial.

Objective: To identify the efficacy and tolerability of Proteoglycan F in patients with primary knee OA.: A 24-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial with two arms: (1) Proteoglycan F (received 10 ​mg proteoglycan daily, for 24 weeks) and (2) control group (received placebo). Knee symptoms and joint cartilage status (evaluated by ultrasound and MRI of knee joints), quality of life, serum cytokine levels IL-1β and TNF-α), and safety evaluation were measured before, during, and after the treatment.

Secondhand Smoke and Socio-Demographic Associated Factors: Results From the Vietnam Population-Based Provincial Global Adult Tobacco Survey in 2022.

Secondhand smoke (SHS) has detrimental effects on community health, including coronary heart diseases, stroke, lung cancer etc. This manuscript exploited data from the Vietnam Population-based Provincial Global Adult Tobacco Survey (PGATS) in 2022 to update the prevalence of adult exposure to SHS and associated socio-demographic factors. With the sample size of 71,981 adults aged 15+ throughout 30 provinces and cities in Vietnam, data was collected using the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) questionnaire.

Willingness to Pay for a Quality-Adjusted Life Year among Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Hospital of Vietnam, 2022.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer burden in Asia is increasing, and Vietnam is no exception. Assessing the affordability of achieving a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in gastrointestinal cancer patients Vietnam, as well as identifying predictors of willingness to pay (WTP) per QALY, is crucial to decision-making around medical intervention prioritization and performing medical technology assessments for these cancers.

Objectives: Our study aimed to estimate WTP/QALY gained and associated factors among patients diagnosed with GI cancer at a tertiary hospital in Hue, Vietnam.

Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients treated in emergency COVID-19 hospitals in Vietnam: Experience from Phutho province, Vietnam.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, patient's management approaches, and outcomes of the COVID-19 patients in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam. A retrospective, multicenter study of 2166 COVID-19 patients in 13 hospitals in Phutho Province, Vietnam. The subjects were divided into 3 groups based on vaccination status: unvaccinated group, 1 dose of vaccine group, 2 dose of vaccine group.

Adult cancer patients' barriers to and satisfaction with care at a National Cancer Hospital in Vietnam.

Study Objective: This study assessed the overall satisfaction with oncological care, including barriers to care, and identified its associated predictors among adult cancer patients in Vietnam.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 300 adult cancer patients receiving inpatient care at a large urban oncological hospital between June and July 2022. Multivariable linear regression analyses examined associations between patient experiences and overall satisfaction ratings with cancer care.