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BackgroundMethamphetamine use could jeopardize the current efforts to address opioid use disorder and HIV infection. Evidence-based behavioral interventions (EBI) are effective in reducing methamphetamine use. However, evidence on optimal combinations of EBI is limited. This protocol presents a type-1 effectiveness-implementation hybrid design to evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness of adaptive methamphetamine use interventions, and their implementation barriers in Vietnam.MethodDesign: Participants will be first randomized into two frontline interventions for 12 weeks. They will then be placed or randomized to three adaptive strategies for another 12 weeks. An economic evaluation and an ethnographic evaluation will be conducted alongside the interventions.ParticipantsWe will recruit 600 participants in 20 methadone clinics.Eligibility criteria(1) age 16+; (2) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) scores ≥ 10 for methamphetamine use or confirmed methamphetamine use with urine drug screening; (3) willing to provide three pieces of contact information; and (4) having a cell phone.OutcomesOutcomes are measured at 13, 26, and 49 weeks and throughout the interventions. Primary outcomes include the (1) increase in HIV viral suppression, (2) reduction in HIV risk behaviors, and (3) reduction in methamphetamine use. COVID-19 response: We developed a response plan for interruptions caused by COVID-19 lockdowns to ensure data quality and intervention fidelity.DiscussionThis study will provide important evidence for scale-up of EBIs for methamphetamine use among methadone patients in limited-resource settings. As the EBIs will be delivered by methadone providers, they can be readily implemented if the trial demonstrates effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04706624. Registered on 13 January 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04706624.

The LGBT community faces disproportionate healthcare disparities; poorly trained providers and stigma are likely contributors. Objectives: To evaluate the attitudes, opinions, and knowledge level of medical students regarding LGBT people and to examine which demographic variables are associated with more negative attitudes toward LGBT people. A cross-sectional study surveyed 561 medical students at Hanoi Medical University. Students held positive or very positive attitudes of both lesbians (96.3%) and gay men (88.1%). Students who were younger, female, and those with close relationships to LGBT people tended to have more positive attitudes toward gays and lesbians. The average score for the knowledge scale was 12.5 (total 32 questions) with a standard deviation of 4.7. Knowledge scores and positives attitudes were significantly, directly associated. Most students responded that there should be more LGBT-related content added in the curriculum. More research is needed regarding students in other health professions and at other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on analyzing the change of lineages relationship in the village in Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam from 1986 up to now. To achieve the goal, in this study, we surveyed 101 households living in the study area. The analysis results have shown that 4 main factors are creating the lineage change in the village of Dong Son district, including (i) Changing the lineages relationship from the perspective of the family, (ii) Lineages relations with changes in residence space, (iii) Changing lineages relations in economic activities, mutual assistance, (iv) Changing lineages relations in social life. In which, the most obvious change is the change in the lineages relationship from the perspective of the family after the Doi Moi period. The research results contribute to a study on the lineages relationship in the Doi Moi period through some typical village types in Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, Vietnam has undergone economic reforms and achieved rapid economic growth. However, the country is still facing numerous challenges linked to a relatively high share of employment in an informal economic sector, which could prevent Vietnam from escaping from the middle-income trap and becoming a high-income country. This research explores the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on job creation in the formal economic sector of Vietnam. A subnational dataset of 63 cities/provinces from 2006 to 2020 was analyzed using an instrumental variable two-stage least-squares fixed-effect model. The results show that FDI is an employment growth-enhancing factor in the formal economic sector. Specifically, FDI enterprises are found to be more capable than domestic enterprises in creating employment, and there is a positive employment spillover from the foreign to the domestic sector, although the magnitude of the effect remains small. Apart from FDI, firm agglomeration, capital resource productivity, and government support for sector development spur employment growth. Labor quality, profitability and foreign industrial agglomeration are identified to be determinants of FDI. Furthermore, the impact mechanism of FDI on the formal sector’s employment is further discussed using mindspongeconomics, the SM3D knowledge management system, and the culture tower.