Health strategy and policy institude

In late 2020, the kick-off workshop of the Scaling-up NCD Interventions in South-East Asia (SUNI-SEA) project was organized in Ninh Binh province. Following the workshop, the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI), in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy (TUMP) and Ninh Binh Department of Health (DOH), conducted the baseline survey in four districts of Ninh Binh province (Yen Mo, Gia Vien, Tam Diep city and Ninh Binh city) with two phases in the first quarter of 2021.

In phase 1, the research team investigated the current situation of implementing the prevention and management of hypertension and diabetes at the grassroots healthcare level and gathered comments on the specific interventions from the local stakeholders. A number of research activities were undertaken, as follows:

(i) Conducting focused-group discussion with the local stakeholders, including health authorities (Ninh Binh DOH, four district health centers); health workers of commune health stations (CHSs) and village health workers; patients with hypertension and/or diabetes; civil society organizations (the Association of the Elderly in Ninh Binh, People’s Healthcare Committees at district and commune levels); and the Intergeneration Self-Help Clubs (ISHCs);

(ii) Conducting a health facility survey at CHSs via self-reported data templates and checklists;

(iii) Conducting a KAP survey on prevention, management and treatment of hypertension and diabetes as well as a training need assessment among assistant doctors/doctors working in CHSs;

(iv) Piloting questionnaires for patients with hypertension and the members of ISHCs.

In phase II, a training workshop on using tablet-based questionnaires was first organized among the investigators of HSPI and TUMP. The research team undertook two different surveys in the four intervention districts, including a patient survey and a community survey. While hypertensive patients sampled from 12 CHSs were recruited for the patient survey, the community survey was implemented among the members of ISHCs established in the intervention sites.

The baseline assessments are expected to provide crucial inputs for the project team to finalize the locally-specific intervention strategies, ensuring the feasibility and effectiveness of the SUNI-SEA project in the provinces.

The Scaling-up NCD Interventions in South-East Asia (SUNI-SEA) project is proposed to improve the effectiveness of the implementation on NCDs prevention and management policy to achieve the NCD management goals on Sustainable Development Goals. This four-year research project started in 2019 and is taking place in Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar with the technical support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020. In Vietnam, the project is conducted through the cooperation between the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI), the HelpAge International in Vietnam (HAIV) and Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy (TUMP).