Multilevel Analysis of 24-Hour Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Associated Factors among Police Officers in Hanoi, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Due to long-hour outdoor working environment, policemen have been subjected to tremendous health risks including blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). In tropical countries, the temperature is extremely harsh which may get peak at above 40 Celsius degrees or drops under 8 Celsius degrees. However, the existing data on the effects of weather variation on BP and HR among police task force has been scarce in Vietnam. AIMS: This study aimed to describe the variation of 24-hour BP and HR and identify factors associated with BP and HR for further appropriate interventions in order to reduce health risks from occupational exposure. METHODS: Multilevel regression analysis (MLRA) was applied with two levels of influent factors. 24-hour holter measured systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and HR values were the first level which should then be nested in the second level (individual). 24-hour temperature and humidity variations were extracted, respectively, from Hanoi Hydrometeorology Department. All individual characteristics and risk behaviours were measured within 24 studying hours. RESULTS: Temperature and humidity were major factors that influenced (74%-78%) the variation of BP and HR among the policemen population. When each of the Celsius degree temperature or percentage humidity increases, the SBP goes down by 0.44 (0.11-0.77) and by 0.2 (0.33-0.77), respectively, and the DBP goes down by 0.21 (-0.05-0.48) and by 0.12 (0.02-0.22), respectively, and vice versa. Interaction between temperature and humidity was significantly influent to SBP. The farther the time section from the first time section (0-6AM) the more the variation of the BP and HR. Transition from winter to summer made SBP and DBP decrease and vice versa. Individual characteristics including body mass index (BMI), bad life styles, and stress contributed 22% to 26% to the variation of BP and HR. Traffic policemen were at the greatest risks of the outdoor ambient variation in comparison with the firefighters and office-based policemen. CONCLUSION: Designing and equipping appropriate uniform and outdoor facilities could help to reduce influence of temperature and humidity variation in the outdoor workplace. Besides, training and educating programs that aimed at controlling BMI, risk behaviours, and stress for police taskforce, especially the traffic policemen, should be implemented.

Factors associated with the duration of hospitalisation among COVID-19 patients in Vietnam: A survival analysis.

BACKGROUND: The median duration of hospital stays due to COVID-19 has been reported in several studies on China as 10-13 days. Global studies have indicated that the length of hospitalisation depends on different factors, such as the time elapsed from exposure to symptom onset, and from symptom onset to hospital admission, as well as specificities of the country under study. The goal of this paper is to identify factors associated with the median duration of hospital stays of COVID-19 patients during the second COVID-19 wave that hit Vietnam from 5 March to 8 April 2020. METHOD: We used retrospective data on 133 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 recorded over at least two weeks during the study period. The Cox proportional-hazards regression model was applied to determine the potential risk factors associated with length of hospital stay. RESULTS: There were 65 (48.9%) females, 98 (73.7%) patients 48 years old or younger, 15 (11.3%) persons with comorbidities, 21 (16.0%) severely ill patients and 5 (3.8%) individuals with life-threatening conditions. Eighty-two (61.7%) patients were discharged after testing negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 51 were still in the hospital at the end of the study period and none died. The median duration of stay in a hospital was 21 (IQR: 16-34) days. The multivariable Cox regression model showed that age, residence and sources of contamination were significantly associated with longer duration of hospitalisation. CONCLUSION: A close look at how long COVID-19 patients stayed in the hospital could provide an overview of their treatment process in Vietnam, and support the country's National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control in the efficient allocation of resources over the next stages of the COVID-19 prevention period.

Influence of new tobacco control policies and campaigns on Quitline call volume in Korea.

INTRODUCTION: While tobacco control policies have been adopted and enforced, and anti-smoking campaigns have been conducted, the evaluation of their impact on tobacco quitting is lacking in Korea. Therefore, the effectiveness of tobacco control policies and mass media campaigns to encourage use of the Quitline were evaluated by monitoring call volume on Quitline, which has been in operation since 2006, in Korea. METHODS: Tobacco control policies and mass media campaigns, from 1 January of 2007 to 31 December of 2016, were assessed from the review of government documents and the history of law and regulation changes. The corresponding period incoming call volumes of the Quitline were assesed. The average monthly call volume, when policies and anti-smoking advertising were implemented, was compared with that of the whole year or baseline years (2007 and 2008). RESULTS: Peak call volume occurred in 2010 when the Quitline was directly promoted on television. The call volume in the month the TV campaign aired was 5.5 times higher than the average monthly call volume in the year 2010. A relatively gradual rise in call volume was found from 2013 to 2016 when the tobacco control policies and campaigns, such as Quitline number included on cigarette packs, a fear-oriented anti-tobacco campaign on mass media, and a tax increase on tobacco was implemented, were introduced sequentially. In that period, the average monthly call volume was about five times higher than in 2007 and 2008. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous efforts to contribute to tobacco control policies and campaigns by the promotion of the Quitline is a most effective approach to raise quitting attempts. Based on the Korean experience, Quitline data may be useful for assessing the impact of tobacco control policies and campaigns in Asian Pacific countries.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Breast Cancer Early Detection Among Women in a Mountainous Area in Northern Vietnam.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women all over the world, also in Vietnam. In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing in Vietnam, and most cases are diagnosed at late stages, making treatment more difficult. More and better early detection could help more women to survive. The aim of this study was to identify the current knowledge, attitude and practice about early detection of breast cancer as well as potential predictors of breast cancer screening among women aged 20 to 49 year in a mountainous commune in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, in a largely ethnic Muong population. Women aged 20 to 49 years were selected by systematic random sampling to participate in a cross sectional study in October 2017. They were interviewed with a closed questionnaire about their knowledge of breast cancer, its risk factors, and warning signs. A checklist for performance of breast self-examination was also applied. Three hundred six women agreed to participate in the study. More than half had a low level of knowledge, and were weak in attitude and practice about breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, breast ultrasound, and mamography. Among women who had practiced at least 1 screening method, 17.0% mentioned clinical breast examination, and only 13.8% reported practicing breast self-examination. Factors associated with practice included knowledge about breast cancer early detection (BCED), ethnicity, income, the BCED information approach, and the BCED screening programs approach. The finding of a very low proportion of women in the mountainous setting with good awareness and practice on early detection of breast cancer is important evidence to inform the BCED intervention program developers about where and how to target which information, especially to reach more ethnic minority women.

Breast cancer services in Vietnam: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer incidence has been increasing consistently in Vietnam. Thus far, there have been no analytical reviews of research produced within this area. OBJECTIVES: We sought to analyse the nature andextent of empirical studies about breast cancer in Vietnam, identifying areas for future research and systemsstrengthening. METHODS: We undertook a scoping study using a five-stage framework to review published and grey literature in English and Vietnamese on breast cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment. We focused specifically on research discussing the health system and service provision. RESULTS: Our results show that breast cancer screening is limited, with no permanent or integrated national screening activities. There is a lack of information on screening processes and on the integration of screening services with other areas of the health system. Treatment is largely centralised, and across all services there is a lack of evaluation and data collection that would be informative for recommendations seeking to improve accessibility and quality of breast cancer services. CONCLUSIONS: This paper is the first scoping review of breast cancer services in Vietnam. It outlines areas for future focus for policy makers and researchers with the objective of strengthening service provision to women with breast cancer across the country while also providing a methodological example for how to conduct a collaborative scoping review.