Using Online Respondent Driven Sampling for Vietnamese Youths' Alcohol Use and Associated Risk Factors / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: The average alcohol consumption per capita among Vietnamese adults has consistently increased. Although alcohol-related disorders have been extensively studied, there is a paucity of research shedding light on this issue among Internet users. The study aimed to examine the severity of alcohol-related disorders and other associated factors that might predispose individuals towards alcohol usage in a sample of youths recruited online. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,080 Vietnamese youths. A standardized questionnaire was used. Respondent-driven sampling was applied to recruit participants. Multivariate logistic and Tobit regressions were utilized to identify the associated factors. RESULTS: About 59.5% of the males and 12.7% of the total youths declared that they were actively using alcohol. From the total sample, a cumulative total of 32.3% of the participants were drinking alcohol, with 21.8% and 25.0% of the participants being classified as drinking hazardously and binge drinkers, respectively. The majority of the participants (60.7%) were in the pre-contemplative stage. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of hazardous drinking was recognized among online Vietnamese youths. In addition, we found relationships between alcohol use disorder and other addictive disorders, such as tobacco smoking and water-pipe usage. Our results highlighted that the majority of the individuals are not receptive to the idea of changing their alcohol habits, and this would imply that there ought to be more government effort towards the implementation of effective alcohol control policies.

Knowledge and practice of safe pesticide use among flowers planters in My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh province

Background: Pesticides safety, plant protection chemicals are widely used around the world, especially in agriculture to protect crops. \r\n', u'Objectives: To describe the real statute of knowledge and practice of safe pesticide use among flowers planters and various other related factors. \r\n', u'Subjects and method: The cross sectional analytic study was carried out in 2006 to evaluate the current situation of knowledge and practice of safe pesticide use in 2 flower planting villages: Hong Ha 1 and Hong Ha 2, My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh Province. Results:The results showed that knowledge on determining toxicity levels and the absorption routes of pesticides to the human body through land and water is insufficient. As for pesticide use practice, the percentage of planters fully utilizing safety work clothes and other equipments was low. Multivariate analysis found that there was a significant correlation between good practice and knowledge. In addition, some predictors of good knowledge were: highly educated, male and age. Conclusion: The findings also discovered the priority of improving direct communication on safe pesticide use among planters. \r\n', u'

The use of pesticides and acute pesticide poisoning among flower planters in My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh province, 2006

Background: Pesticides have been used widely in not only around the world but also Vietnam; however, their misuse can cause many serious health problems. For this reasons, it is necessary to closely monitor the use of pesticides and their effects on the health of farmers. Objectives: To describe the kinds of pesticides, the symptoms and related factors of acute pesticide poisoning among flowers planters. Subjects and method: A cross-sectional analytic design was applied with a sample of 107 households in the Hong Ha 1 and Hong Ha 2 village of My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh province from November 2005 to February 2006. \r\n', u'Results: There were various types of pesticide that were being sprayed in the flower planting villages. Almost all types were moderately hazardous. 85% of farmers experienced at least 1 symptom of acute poisoning after spraying pesticides. The most common symptoms were headache, dizziness, rash (accounting for 45-58%), followed by red eyes and musculoskeletal symptoms (approximate 40%). The effects of pesticides to the farmer\u2019s health were proved with the typical symptoms of toxicity, especially headache, irritation of the face, red eyes. The percentages of self-reported toxicity symptoms were associated with sex, age groups, following manual and pesticide exposure. Conclusion: The results suggested that various interventions is required in order to change the knowledge, attitude and practice of pesticide use among farmers in general and flowers planters in particularly.\r\n', u'

Effects of an IEC intervention on food safety handling practices among staffs of canteens surrounding Hanoi medical university in 2007

Background: Many studies showed that food safety handling practice is limited in many subjects, especially employees of public canteens and street restaurants. Objective: Strengthen the knowledge on food safety handling practices for staffs of canteens surrounding Hanoi medical university. Subject and Method: An IEC intervention was carried out from December, 2006 to June, 2007 in order to improve food safety handling practices among the personnel of 7 canteens surrounding Hanoi Medical University. The sample size of 34 employees was collected and interviewed with regards to their handing practice on food by using a checklist and a structured questionnaire. The utensils hygiene was assessed by a quick biochemical test. Result and Conclusion: There were significant changes in food handling practices among staffs after the intervention which proved by the regular medical examination, the improvement in hand-washing habits; dish cleaning; ways of picking up cooked-foods; however, almost all of the observed canteens did not follow the rules of food sources management and daily storage sample of foods. \r\n', u'\r\n', u'

The current situation of food safety practice among housewives in Bavi district, Hatay province

Background: Food poisoning and diseases caused by food are pressing problems in Viet Nam.\r\n', u'Objectives: To contribute towards discovering suitable approaches for preventing food poisoning. \r\n', u'Subjects and methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in 2005 to assess the practice of food safety of 423 housewives in Bavi district, Hatay province. \r\n', u'Results:Almost all of them did not purchase tainted foods. Two thirds of them considered and looked for information on the label when buying tinned or packed foods. 52.2% of subjects reheated cooked foods before eating them. 87.2% of housewives washed their hands before they prepared food for their household. More than 86% of the subjects washed vegetables 3 times before cooking. Percentage of housewives who soak vegetables properly is 51.8%. Chopping board was used for processing both cooked and fresh foods by 55.6%. For containing foods, tools were used separately for cooked and un-cooked food by 98.6%. For preserving foods, dish-covers were used by 74.9%, lids by 72.8%, fridge by 1 % while 1.25% was not preserved by any tools. As for sources of water, deep well accounted for 71.6% while water well and rain water accounted for 18% and 9%, respectively. 88.7% of households have the foundation of kitchen dried. 68.6% of households did not have rubbish bins and 14.7% have daily emptied ones. \r\n', u'Conclusions: Housewives had initial improvements in good practice of food hygiene.\r\n', u'