Case Study: Vietnam

Developing Urban Health Indicators for Low Income Countries

Stephanie SteelsUniversity of Manchester

Presentation Outline

• My PhD study• Some results• Challenges of collecting data in Vietnam• Conclusion

My PhD study

• Split into two parts:

Part one: to explore the feasibility of using the EURO-URHIS data collection tools in Vietnam.

Part two: to explore the types of data used by NGOs in Vietnam, the barriers to using them, and NGO relationships with multi-sectoral stakeholders.

Vietnam

Existing data collectionName of indicator Availability Name of indicator Availability

1. Population by age and gender

12. Low birth weight Different definition

2. Population Projections X 13. Mothers’ age distribution Different definition

3. Marital status 14. Causes of death X

4. Birth rate 15. HIV/AIDS incidence Different definition

5. Total fertility rate 16. Lung cancer incidence X

6. Population density 17. Breast cancer incidence X

7. Population by education 18. Diabetes prevalence X

8. Unemployment rate 19. Communicable diseases Some

9. Life expectancy at birth 20. GPs employed X

10. Infant mortality 21. Preventive actions – Vaccinations

Some

11. Perinatal mortality Different definition

Total Population

Life Expectancy at Birth

Infant MortalityIn

fan

t d

eath

s p

er

1000 liv

e

bir

ths

Population density by urban area

Challenges with the Vietnamese study

• Ethical approval is a lengthy process in Vietnam

• Cultural and Political issues– No longer able to collect data in Hanoi

• Change in Adult data collection methodology– No reliable postal system – Face-to-face interviews

Conclusions

• It has been possible to collect data using the Existing data collection tool

• Ethical approval process is close to completion• Challenges with conducting the study in

Vietnam have led to:– Delay in data collection– Changes to the adult survey data collection

methodology

• NGO study is still ongoing

Thank you for listening.