David B. Duong - Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Center for Primary Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Hoang Van Minh - Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam
Long H. Ngo - Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Andrew L. Ellner - Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Center for Primary Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

BackgroundVietnam’s network of commune health centers (CHCs) have historically managed acute infectious diseases and implemented national disease-specific vertical programs. Vietnam has undergone an epidemiological transition towards non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Limited data exist on Vietnamese CHC capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat NCDs. In this paper, we assess NCD service readiness, availability, and utilization at rural CHCs in ۳ provinces in northern Vietnam. MethodsBetween January ۲۰۱۴ and April ۲۰۱۴, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of ۸۹ rural CHCs from ۳ provinces. Our study outcomes included service readiness, availability of equipment and medications, and utilization for five NCD conditions: hypertension, diabetes, chronic pulmonary diseases, cancer, and mental illnesses. ResultsNCD service availability was limited, except for mental health. Only ۲۵% of CHCs indicated that they conducted activities focused on NCD prevention. Patient utilization of CHCs was approximately ۲۲۳ visits per month or ۸ visits per day. We found a statistically significant difference (P < .۰۵) for NCD service availability, medication availability and CHC utilization among the ۳ provinces studied. ConclusionThis is the first multi-site study on NCD service availability in Vietnam and the first study in a mountainous region consisting predominately of ethnic minorities. Despite strong government support for NCD prevention and control, Vietnam’s current network of CHCs has limited NCD service capacity.

Non-Communicable Diseases, Primary Care, Primary Healthcare, Disadvantaged Populations, Vietnam