Factors affecting healthcare pathways for chronic lung disease management in Vietnam: a qualitative study on patients' perspectives

Spectrum and antimicrobial resistance in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with pneumonia: a cross-sectional prospective study from Vietnam

BACKGROUND

Respiratory infections have long been recognized as a primary cause of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD). Additionally, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance has led to an urgent and critical situation in developing countries, including Vietnam. This study aimed to investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria in patients with AE-COPD using both conventional culture and multiplex real-time PCR. Additionally, associations between clinical characteristics and indicators of pneumonia in these patients were examined.

METHODS

This cross-sectional prospective study included 92 AE-COPD patients with pneumonia and 46 without pneumonia. Sputum specimens were cultured and examined for bacterial identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined for each isolate. Multiplex real-time PCR was also performed to detect ten bacteria and seven viruses.

RESULTS

The detection rates of pathogens in AE-COPD patients with pneumonia were 92.39%, compared to 86.96% in those without pneumonia. A total of 26 pathogenic species were identified, showing no significant difference in distribution between the two groups. The predominant bacteria included Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, followed by Acinetobacter baumannii and Streptococcus mitis. There was a slight difference in antibiotic resistance between bacteria isolated from two groups. The frequency of H. influenzae was notably greater in AE-COPD patients who experienced respiratory failure (21.92%) than in those who did not (9.23%). S. pneumoniae was more common in patients with stage I (44.44%) or IV (36.36%) COPD than in patients with stage II (17.39%) or III (9.72%) disease. ROC curve analysis revealed that C-reactive protein (CRP) levels could distinguish patients with AE-COPD with and without pneumonia (AUC = 0.78).

CONCLUSION

Gram-negative bacteria still play a key role in the etiology of AE-COPD patients, regardless of the presence of pneumonia. This study provides updated evidence for the epidemiology of AE-COPD pathogens and the appropriate selection of antimicrobial agents in Vietnam.

Exploring attitudes to research involving human subjects among Vietnamese university students: establishing a prospective longitudinal mixed-methods student cohort at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City

Research capacity is increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with progressive development in the range and complexity of studies being undertaken, often in collaboration with high-income country partners. Although senior local stakeholders are typically involved in ensuring that research is conducted according to accepted standards for ethical and scientific quality, to date there has been little exploration of the views of younger generations around the ethics of research involving human subjects. We present our protocol to establish a longitudinal mixed-methods student cohort at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that is investigating students' views around the ethics of clinical and public-health oriented research. We use a synergistic approach involving initial deliberative engagement activities ( e.g. science cafes, debates) to inform participants about complex concepts, prior to formal quantitative and qualitative methods (surveys, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews) that are designed to explore the students' views in detail. We focus in particular on dengue research, i.e. research that addresses a locally relevant disease with which the students are likely familiar, and probe their thoughts on such themes as appropriate remuneration for research participants, involvement of vulnerable groups, use of human challenge trials in LMICs etc. A snapshot of the cohort and its activities after one year is also presented; among 429 active students, primarily from the Faculty of Medicine, the proportions of male and female students were similar, the majority were from southern or central Vietnam where dengue is endemic, and available data indicates the cohort to be representative of the expected spectrum of socioeconomic groups. The cohort provides a unique resource to investigate the views of young people on medical ethics, an important but hitherto underrepresented group in such discussions. Feedback indicates a clear interest in contributing thoughts and ideas to the development of clinical research in Vietnam.

Voices of care: unveiling patient journeys in primary care for hypertension and diabetes management in Kerala, India

Background

Diabetes and hypertension are leading public health problems, particularly affecting low- and middle-income countries, with considerable variations in the care continuum between different age, socio-economic, and rural and urban groups. In this qualitative study, examining the factors affecting access to healthcare in Kerala, we aim to explore the healthcare-seeking pathways of people living with diabetes and hypertension.

Methods

We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion (FGD) on a purposive sample of people living with diabetes and hypertension. Participants were recruited at four primary care facilities in Malappuram district of Kerala. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed deductively and inductively using thematic analysis underpinned by Levesque et al.'s framework.

Results

The patient journey in managing diabetes and hypertension is complex, involving multiple entry and exit points within the healthcare system. Patients did not perceive Primary Health Centres (PHCs) as their initial points of access to healthcare, despite recognizing their value for specific services. Numerous social, cultural, economic, and health system determinants underpinned access to healthcare. These included limited patient knowledge of their condition, self-medication practices, lack of trust/support, high out-of-pocket expenditure, unavailability of medicines, physical distance to health facilities, and attitude of healthcare providers.

Conclusion

The study underscores the need to improve access to timely diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for diabetes and hypertension at the lower level of the healthcare system. Currently, primary healthcare services do not align with the "felt needs" of the community. Practical recommendations to address the social, cultural, economic, and health system determinants include enabling and empowering people with diabetes and hypertension and their families to engage in self-management, improving existing health information systems, ensuring the availability of diagnostics and first-line drug therapy for diabetes and hypertension, and encouraging the use of single-pill combination (SPC) medications to reduce pill burden. Ensuring equitable access to drugs may improve hypertension and diabetes control in most disadvantaged groups. Furthermore, a more comprehensive approach to healthcare policy that recognizes the interconnectedness of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their social determinants is essential.

Respiratory Health Among Older Adults in Vietnam: Does Earlier-Life Military Role and War Exposure Matter?

ObjectiveWe explore how earlier-life military roles and war trauma associate with later-life respiratory health in Vietnam. Method: The population-based sample aged 60+ is from the 2018 Vietnam Health and Aging Study. Poisson and binary logistic regressions investigate correlates of overall lung health, measured as total number of four conditions, and individual conditions, with focus on earlier-life wartime experiences. Results: Exposure is associated with lung conditions. Overall, a one-standard deviation increase in exposure results in 0.529 more conditions (p ≤ .001). Association varies across military roles and is partially explained by PTSD and smoking. Civilians heavily exposed to war trauma exhibit worse lung health than similarly exposed formal and informal military personnel. Discussion: Earlier-life war exposure is an important predictor of late-adulthood respiratory health in lower- and middle-income countries. Evidence calls for attention to the long-term impacts of war on health among not only formal and informal military personnel but also civilians.

Everyday disease diplomacy: an ethnographic study of diabetes self-care in Vietnam

Background

Understanding people’s subjective experiences of everyday lives with chronic health conditions such as diabetes is important for appropriate healthcare provisioning and successful self-care. This study explored how individuals with type 2 diabetes in northern Vietnam handle the everyday life work that their disease entails.

Methods

Detailed ethnographic data from 27 extended case studies conducted in northern Vietnam’s Thái Bình province in 2018–2020 were analyzed.

Results

The research showed that living with type 2 diabetes in this rural area of Vietnam involves comprehensive everyday life work. This work often includes efforts to downplay the significance of the disease in the attempt to stay mentally balanced and ensure social integration in family and community. Individuals with diabetes balance between disease attentiveness, keeping the disease in focus, and disease discretion, keeping the disease out of focus, mentally and socially. To capture this socio-emotional balancing act, we propose the term “everyday disease diplomacy.” We show how people’s efforts to exercise careful everyday disease diplomacy poses challenges to disease management.

Conclusions

In northern Vietnam, type 2 diabetes demands daily labour, as people strive to enact appropriate self-care while also seeking to maintain stable social connections to family and community. Health care interventions aiming to enhance diabetes care should therefore combine efforts to improve people’s technical diabetes self-care skills with attention to the lived significance of stable family and community belonging.