Vietnam faces several challenges in its healthcare system including overcrowded public hospitals, outdated medical equipment, and high rates of common diseases. Natural disasters frequently impact Vietnam and strain its underdeveloped healthcare system. The document discusses Vietnam's disaster preparedness strategies and identifies areas for improving infrastructure, forecasting systems, emergency response, and raising community awareness of disaster risk reduction.

1. Vietnam : A Quality Improvement
Application
Thuy Trang Nguyen Thi
Hloliphani Juta
Jasmine Paul
Lara Kesteloo

2. An Introduction Population:
91,519,289
Most common
diseases:
1. Diarrhoea
Average life
2. Avian influenza
expectancy: 72.41
years Vietnam 2.Dengue and dengue
hemorrhagic fever
3. Hand foot and
mouth
Hospital bed
density: 2.87
beds/1,000
population

3. Challenges in Vietnam’s healthcare
sector include
 Most Vietnamese seek  Outdated medical
initial and rudimentary equipment
medical treatment at  Low salaries for
public hospitals clogging healthcare
an already overcrowded professionals
system  Insufficient government
 High child mortality and subsidy
other national health
issues – Vietnam’s healthcare
HIV/Aids, Hepatitis B & C system remains largely
infections, liver underdeveloped and
cirrhosis, lung disease both the number and
and asthma are all on the quality of
rise hospitals, clinics, and
 High incidence of deaths
doctors have not kept
related to road accidents
pace with Vietnamese
society’s needs or
 Overcrowded facilities expectations

4. Overview of Quality Issues in Health
Care
• Country
Macrosystem governance
Level • Hospital system
• Intra-hospital unit
• Individual patient
Microsystem or health care
worker

5. Quality Improvement: A Focus on
Natural Disasters

6. Impact of Natural Disasters
 Drought  Financial hardship
 Famine  Loss of family or
 Water contamination friends
 Disease  Increase in hospital
 Loss of property
access in an already
crowded system
 Loss of income
 Injury
 Mental health
disorders

7. Vietnam Disaster Preparedness
 According to the World Health Organization
(2011), Viet Nam is one of the most disaster
prone countries in the world – natural disasters
such as typhoons, tropical
storms, floods, drought, landslides, forest
fires, and earthquakes occur frequently between
May to December
Question: How does Viet Nam prepare for these
frequent
disasters?

8. Viet Nam’s disaster preparedness
planning
 The Viet Nam National Strategy for Natural Disaster
Prevention Response and Mitigation from 2007 to
2020
Goal: “Mobilize all resources to effectively implement
disaster
prevention and response from now up to 2020 in order
to
minimize the losses of human life and properties, the
damage of
natural resources and cultural heritages, and the
degradation of
environment, to ensure the country sustainable

9. Goals and Achievements
Goals Achievements
 Increase the early warning of storms  Legal documents: Law on
up to 72 hours in advance Dykes, Water Resources Law, Law on
Forest Protection and
Development, and Law on
 Ensure 100% of local staffs who Environment Protection to guide
directly work in the field of disaster appropriate action
prevention and response to be trained
 Annual allocation from donors for
 Promote community awareness to
ensure preparedness at an individual emergency relief and prompt damage
level recovery e.g. Vietnam Fatherland
Front, Trade Union, Youth and
Women Associations
 Protect water system by improvement
of flood discharge for rivers and
 Application of new materials and
canals, construction of sea dykes for
salinity prevention, and fresh water technologies to construct several
preservation. disaster prevention structures.

10. Areas for Improvement
Infrastructure built is usually poor and vulnerable to disaster
Forecast and warning systems are not advanced enough
Emergency relief, damage recovery, and rehabilitation services are limited
Search and rescue activities are limited due to lack of equipment and little collaboration between health
care professionals
Training and raising community awareness of disaster prevention and response are infrequent and un
systematic; disaster preparedness training programs have not been included in school curriculum
Investment in natural disaster prevention, response and mitigation has been minimal and has not met
requirements
Lack of strong leader(s) to seriously implement plans and invest money

11. References
 Australian Nursing Journal. (2001). Volunteering in Viet Nam. Australian Nursing federation
 Central Intelligence Agency. (2012). The world factbook: East and Southeast Asia: Viet Nam. Retrieved April
17, 2012, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html
 Hien, T. T et al. (2005). Viet Nam’s war of flu. Nature Publishing Group.
 Partnerships for Disaster Reduction – South East Asia. (2008). Monitoring and reporting progress on community-
based disaster risk management in Viet Nam. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/programs/CBDRM/INFORMATION%20RESOURCE%20CENTER/CBDRM%
20Publications/2008/final_crvietnam_23nov.pdf
 Respondek , A., Hao T. T., & Nguyet, N. H N.(2010). Viet Nam’s legal aspect of health care system. Ho chi Minh City:
Respondek and Fan Ltd.
 Richards J. R. (1996). Emergency in Viet Nam. American College of Emergency Physicians. California
 Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. (2007). National strategy for natural disaster prevention, response, and mitigation to
2020. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from
http://www.isgmard.org.vn/VHDocs/NationalPrograms/National%20Strategyfordisasterprevention2020.pdf
 Schmidt, W. et al. (2011). Population density, water supply and the risk of dengue fever in Viet Nam: Cohort study and
spatial analysis. Pub Med, 8(8)
 World Health Organization. (2008). Country health profiles: Viet Nam. Retrieved April 17, 2012, from
http://www.wpro.who.int/countries/vnm/36VTNpro2011_finaldraft.pdf

12. Search Strategy
 General Google search for orientation and
introduction to Vietnam as a country, and their
health care issues.
 Searched UVic and other peer reviewed source
databases according to our individual focal point.
 Used search terms such as: “Vietnam + health
care”, “ Vietnam + nurse+ working conditions” or
“Vietnam + disasters”

13. Collaboration
 We met up three times as a group.
 1) To decide on a topic and split research
responsibility for finding quality improvement
issues with relation to health care.
 2) To bring together our findings, decide on an
issue to focus on and split the research
responsibilities accordingly.
 3) To pull the individual parts together in a way all
four of us were satisfied and the presenter felt
supported