Double burden of malnutrition in ethnic minority school-aged children living in mountainous areas of Vietnam and its association with nutritional behavior

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESAlthough children of ethnic minority groups are experiencing a transition from a predominance of undernutrition to overnutrition, there is little evidence of a dual-malnutrition burden. Therefore, this study examined the double burden of malnutrition among school-aged ethnic minority children living in mountainous areas and its association with their diets.SUBJECTS/METHODSA cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2019 to March 2020 in 3 mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam among 1,556 ethnic minority school-aged children. The prevalence of under-nutrition (stunting and thinness) and over-nutrition (overweight and obesity) were measured using the WHO 2006 child growth standards (height-for-age and BMI-for-age Z-score). Nutritional practices were evaluated by the frequency of food consumption based on a 4-level scale.RESULTSThe percentage of children with stunting and thinness were 14.0% and 5.4%, respectively, while the figure for overweight/obesity was 9.4%. The factors positively associated with stunting were living in a family with more than 2 children or being Muong/other ethnicities compared to the Tay ethnicity. Children who consumed fish/shrimps/crabs or milk weekly/daily were less likely to be undernourished compared to those who never consumed these foods. By contrast, children who never consumed foods rich in vitamin A precursors and vitamin A and fruit or consumed daily snacks/junk food were more likely to be overweight/obese.CONCLUSIONSUndernutrition remains a common issue among school-aged children and adolescents of ethnic minority groups, while over-nutrition exists simultaneously. Public health nutrition programs promoting adequate diets and positive lifestyle changes related to nutrition are essential to tackle the double burden of malnutrition among ethnic minority children.     

Village-Based Primary Health Care in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

This paper describes the first year of an ongoing village health care and economic development project in the Krong Buk district of Dak Lak province in Vietnam's Central Highlands. The project serves 21 villages with a total population of just over 15,000. Most belong to ethnic minority groups. Physicians from the province capital of Boun Me Thuot were trained by a multi-disciplinary team of American health care workers to be trainers and supervisors of 21 village health care workers (VHWs). Two months later, a VHW from each village was trained in primary and preventive health care by the physician-supervisors. Since this initial training, each VHW has been provided with materials, medicines and monthly supervision by the physician-supervisors. The health care component has been complemented by an economic development project based on a system of small loans. Data from the first year of monthly reports and from a baseline survey are presented in this paper.     

Aiming for inclusion: a case study of motivations for involvement in mental health‐care governance by ethnic minority users

Objective

To examine the motivations for involvement in mental health‐care governance by socially disadvantaged ethnic minority users.

Design and setting

A qualitative case study approach was employed to investigate the involvement of minority north‐eastern users in mental health‐care governance at CAPS Pedro Pellegrino in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Semi‐structured interviews with minority Northeasterners (n = 12) and institutional stakeholders (n = 26) were complemented by participant observation of user assembly and user movement meetings.

Findings

Minority Northeasterners express both individual and collective motivations for involvement in mental health‐care governance. Individual motivations include the desire to increase social interaction, acquire meaningful social roles and overcome the stigma attached to mental illness. Collective motivations include the intent to improve the responsiveness of mental health care and achieve social justice for people with mental problems. Taken together, these motivations demonstrate a strong aspiration by users to promote their social inclusion and the inclusion of others who also experience marginalization. Results also reveal that the involvement of long‐term participants is driven mostly by collective goals while early‐stage participants focus predominantly in dealing with individual concerns. This is at odds with the mutual incentives theory, which postulates that collective motivations prevail over individual motivations in explaining user involvement.

Conclusion

Groups historically excluded from decision‐making processes may identify social inclusion as the core goal of their involvement. Initiatives aiming to increase user participation in health‐care governance must address the range of motivations driving the involvement of users, instead of focusing solely on issues related to health‐care management and provision.     

Maternal social capital and child health in Vietnam

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between maternal social capital and child physical and mental health in Vietnam. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. Measures of maternal structural social capital comprised group membership, citizenship, and social support. Measures of cognitive social capital comprised trust, social harmony, sense of fairness, and belonging. Child health was measured by anthropometrics and mothers' reports of acute and chronic physical health problems and child mental health. PARTICIPANTS: 2907 mothers and their 1 year old or 8 year old children from five provinces in Vietnam. MAIN RESULTS: The study found low levels of group membership and citizenship and high levels of cognitive social capital and support, and generally higher levels of social capital among the mothers of 8 year old compared with 1 year old children. All but one association was in the hypothesised direction (that is, higher levels of social capital associated with reduced risk of child health problems). There were more statistically significant relations between maternal social capital and the health of 1 year olds compared with 8 year old children, and between measures of social support and cognitive social capital and child health, than with group membership and involvement in citizenship activities. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to explore the association between multiple dimensions of social capital and a range of different child health outcomes in the developing world. These results now need to be tested using longitudinal data.     

柯尔克孜族学龄前留守儿童缺铁性贫血患病率及影响因素分析

目的 了解新疆柯尔克孜族学龄前留守儿童缺铁性贫血状况及其影响因素,为少数民族学龄前留守儿童健康成长提供支持。方法 2016年10-11月采用分层抽样的方法在新疆克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州的农村地区对442名柯尔克孜族3~6岁留守儿童进行调查及检测。结果 柯尔克孜族学龄前留守儿童缺铁性贫血的总检出率为18.10%(80/442),其中轻度为12.22%、中度为4.30%、重度为1.58%,差异有统计学意义(χ²=47.60,P＜0.01)。回归分析显示,孕期母亲未补铁(OR=2.026,95%CI:1.038~3.944)、家庭月收入1 000元以下(OR=2.352,95%CI:1.111~5.011)、挑食(OR=3.997,95%CI:1.318~12.108)是导致儿童缺铁性贫血的危险因素(P<0.05)。结论 柯尔克孜族学龄前留守儿童缺铁性贫血患病率较高,以轻度贫血为主,应积极采取干预措施,以降低贫血患病率。     

云南省临翔区不同民族学龄前儿童健康状况横断面研究

目的 了解云南省临翔区学龄前儿童健康状况及影响因素, 为云南少数民族地区开展儿童健康促进工作提供科学依据。方法 2019年采用随机抽样方法,在云南省临翔区随机抽取学龄前儿童1 018名,横断面调查样本儿童的生长发育指标和影响因素,并纳入二元Logistic回归模型中,找出影响少数民族儿童健康状况的不良因素。结果 该少数民族地区学龄前儿童低体重、发育迟缓和龋齿发生率随着年龄增长递增, 6~7岁组低体重发生率为9.7%(χ²=11.327,P=0.001),发育迟缓发生率为13.3%(χ²=22.939,P<0.001),龋齿发生率为71.4%(χ²=58.067,P<0.001)。对不同民族地区儿童发育迟缓的发生率做二元Logistic回归,拟合模型结果显示在控制年龄和家庭收入因素不变的情况下,拉祜族儿童发生生长迟缓的危险是汉族的4.332倍(95%CI:2.103~8.924)。结论 影响云南省临翔区儿童健康的主要问题是低体重、发育迟缓和龋齿,应引起相关部门高度重视,通过定期随访及专案管理,从多方面、多渠道开展疾病预防和治疗,不断提高儿童健康水平。     

Patient access to healthcare services and optimisation of self-management for ethnic minority populations living with diabetes: a systematic review

A higher risk of diabetes mellitus in South Asian and Black African populations combined with lower reported access and self-management-related health outcomes informed the aims of this study. Our aims were to synthesise and evaluate evidence relating to patient self-management and access to healthcare services for ethnic minority groups living with diabetes. A comprehensive search strategy was developed capturing a full range of study types from 1995-2010, including relevant hand-searched literature pre-dating 1995. Systematic database searches of MEDLINE, Cochrane, DARE, HTA and NHSEED, the British Nursing Index, CAB abstracts, EMBASE, Global Health, Health Management Information Consortium and PsychInfo were conducted, yielding 21,288 abstracts. Following search strategy refinement and the application of review eligibility criteria; 11 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), 18 qualitative studies and 18 quantitative studies were evaluated and principal results extracted. Results suggest that self-management practices are in need of targeted intervention in terms of patients' knowledge and understanding of their illness, inadequacy of information and language and communication difficulties arising from cultural differences. Access to health-care is similarly hindered by a lack of cultural sensitivity in service provision and under use of clinic-based interpreters and community-based services. Recommendations for practice and subsequent intervention primarily rest at the service level but key barriers at patient and provider levels are also identified.     

Social science research on HIV in Vietnam: A critical review and future directions

Social science research can enhance the response to Vietnam's growing HIV epidemic by capturing the country's rapidly changing social and political context. The present paper reviews the published, peer-reviewed and English-language social science literature on HIV in Vietnam in order to identify critical theoretical and substantive gaps, while laying the groundwork for future research. We found four broad foci for work on the social context of HIV and AIDS in Vietnam: the cultural meanings and social relationships that shape Vietnam's HIV epidemic; stigma and discrimination; social inequality and structural violence as contributors to HIV risk; and, finally, how broader global and social systems shape Vietnam's HIV epidemic. We signal the particular need for additional research on the effects of the media on attitudes towards HIV and AIDS, on social movements, and on health systems, as well as on a number of other key areas. Work along these lines, in addition to more effective communication of policy-relevant findings to those responsible for the development and implementation of policies and programmes, will strengthen Vietnam's response to HIV and AIDS.     

Racial/ethnic variation in health care satisfaction: The role of acculturation

This study examined the role of acculturation and racial/ethnic variation in health care satisfaction among four different racial/ethnic groups. The study sample consisted of 41,560 adults from the 2011 California Health Interview Survey. Health care satisfaction was measured via two questions regarding doctors’ listening and explanations. Guided by Andersen’s behavioral model of health care use, multivariate logistic regressions were conducted. Hispanic and Asian respondents showed the lowest levels of satisfaction with their doctors’ listening and explanations, respectively. Acculturation was found to be a significant predictor of health care satisfaction. Health care professionals should develop ways of expanding culturally competent health care professionals, who are aware of racial/ethnic variation in health care satisfaction.     

Health system research in Vietnam: Generating policy-relevant knowledge

Vietnam's health system continues to make great progress in improving its capacities and performance. However, despite the many significant achievements that have been made, this paper summaries 11 health system research papers from different perspectives with the aim of providing scientific evidence for policy actions in Vietnam. Health system research is ultimately concerned with improving the health of people and communities, by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the health system as an integral part of the overall process of socioeconomic development, with full involvement of all actors. We hope the findings from this cluster of papers provide some insights into issues of importance for the continued advancement and strengthening of the health system in Vietnam and can be considered a valid and reliable resource to inform planning, management and policy-making decisions.     

Ethnicity,education attainment,media exposure,and prenatal care in Vietnam

Objective. Prenatal care coverage in Vietnam has been improving, but ethnic minority women still lag behind in receiving adequate level and type of care. This paper examines ethnic disparities in prenatal care utilization by comparing two groups of ethnic minority and majority women.

Design. We examine the roots of ethnic disparity in prenatal care utilization, focusing on how education and media exposure change health behaviours and lessen disparities. We rely on the 2002 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey to draw our sample, predictors and the three dimensions of prenatal care, including timing of onset, frequency of visits, and type of provider.

Results. Results from multinomial-, and binary-logistic regression provide evidence that ethnic minority women are less likely to obtain frequent prenatal care and seek care from professional providers than their majority counterparts. However, we find that ethnic minority women are more likely to obtain early care compared to ethnic majority women. Results for predicted probabilities suggest that education and media exposure positively influenced prenatal care behaviours with higher level of education and media exposure associating with accelerated probability of meeting prenatal care requirements.

Conclusion. Our results imply the needs for expansion of media access and schools as well as positive health messages being broadcasted in culturally competent ways.     

云南省不同少数民族居民饮食习惯及肥胖比较分析

目的 比较分析云南省布依族、彝族和白族居民的饮食习惯及肥胖和中心性肥胖情况,探讨饮食习惯与肥胖的关系,为少数民族肥胖的管理和控制工作提供参考依据。方法 采用按比例概率抽样方法对在云南省罗平县布依族、通海县彝族和玉龙县白族3个聚集乡随机抽取的1 145名≥18岁常住少数民族居民进行问卷调查和体格检查。结果 彝族居民的高盐饮食比例（32.6%）和食腌制品≥3次/周的比例（67.1%）最高,布依族居民食油及脂肪多的食物每周≥3次/周的比例最高（78.7%）,白族居民一日三餐按时吃的比例最高（89.5%）;布依族、彝族和白族居民的标化肥胖率分别为11.5%、5.5%和3.1%,标化中心性肥胖率分别为47.9%、37.2%和50.3%,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）;一日三餐按时吃居民的肥胖率为5.1%,低于不按时吃居民的13.0%（χ²=19.01,P<0.01）,每周食油及脂肪多居民的中心性肥胖率为49.3%,高于食油及脂肪少居民的40.6%（χ²=8.56,P<0.05）。结论 布依族、彝族和白族居民的饮食习惯及肥胖和中心性肥胖率存在明显差异;按时就餐和减少食油及脂肪多的食物频率有助于减少肥胖和中心性肥胖的发生。     

Evaluation on the effectiveness of a peer led video on oral hygiene education in young children

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a peer-led oral hygiene education video in improving oral hygiene knowledge and behaviour in year 2 (6- to 7-year-old) and year 3 (7- to 8-year-old) children. A novel peer-led oral hygiene education video was created, in which a group of 6- to 10-year-old children delivered key oral hygiene messages. The video was then shown to children of the same age group, whom oral hygiene knowledge and behaviours were assessed before and after the video. Results found that the video was an effective method of improving overall oral hygiene knowledge. It was effective in improving specific aspects of oral hygiene such as knowledge of the frequency of brushing and toothpaste amount, and in the behaviour of using the toothbrush in a circular motion. It was not an effective method in improving the overall oral hygiene knowledge and behaviour of Year Two children, demonstrating children may develop significantly in just 1 year.     

The under-representation of minority ethnic groups in UK medical research

Objectives . The paper investigates differences in engagement with medical research between White British and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups in the UK, using data from the Wellcome Trust Monitor (WTM).

Design. The study used two waves of the WTM (n?=?2575) to examine associations between ethnic group and participation in medical research, and willingness to participate (WP) in medical research. Logistic regression models controlled for socio-economic and demographic factors, and relevant outlooks and experiences that are assumed to be markers of engagement.

Results. Respondents from the BAME group were less likely to have participated in medical research compared to those from the White British group, but there was only patchy evidence of small ethnic group differences in WP. Influences on engagement with medical research varied somewhat between the White British and BAME groups, in particular in relation to occupation, education, health, attitudes to medical science and belief.

Conclusions. These findings consolidate previously context-specific evidence of BAME group under-representation in the UK, and highlight heterogeneity in that group. Efforts to address the under-representation of those from BAME groups might benefit from targeted strategies for recruitment and advocacy, although improved data sets are required to fully understand ethnic differences in engagement with medical research.     

Challenges of a healthy lifestyle for socially disadvantaged people of Dutch,Moroccan and Turkish origin in the Netherlands: a focus group study

Lifestyle interventions often fail to successfully reach individuals with lower socio-economic status (SES), possibly because of the individual behavioural orientation to health behaviour and because limited research has included the target groups’ perspectives in the development of interventions. Certainly, in order to make lifestyle interventions more applicable, target groups’ viewpoints should to be taken into account. In order to tailor an effective lifestyle intervention to groups with lower SES of different ethnic origins, 14 focus group interviews were conducted with Turkish, Moroccan and Dutch male and female groups. The target groups’ responses highlight their viewpoint and their dilemmas with regard to physical activity behaviour and healthy eating. Exploration of the target groups’ behaviour in terms of their own logic revealed three prominent themes. Firstly, some individuals find it difficult to maintain healthy eating habits and regular physical activities, as their concept of a healthy life comprises competing values and activities. Secondly, social norms and social practices of others influence health behaviour. Thirdly, respondents’ answers reflect how they deal with the dilemma of competing values and norms. They use different ways of reasoning to make sense of their own (health) behaviour. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that considering physical activity and eating as collective social practices rather than as determinants of health will provide new opportunities to initiate healthy lifestyles and to make lifestyle interventions more applicable to target groups’ realities.