Starting from April 1st, 2020, the nationwide partial lockdown in Vietnam has shown the effectiveness in stopping the community transmission of COVID-19, however, it also produced adverse impacts on ...the economy and inhabitants’ life. A cross-sectional study using a web-based approach was conducted in the second week of April 2020 to examine the influence of the national social distancing on the quality of life and economic well-being of Vietnamese citizens under COVID-19 pandemic. The data included socio-economic characteristics, impact of COVID-19 on household income, health status, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Ordered logistic regression and multivariable Tobit regression model were employed to examine factors correlated to income change and HRQOL. Results showed that among 341 participants, 66.9% reported household income loss due to the impact of COVID-19. People holding undergraduate degrees, working in other sectors rather than healthcare, and having definite-term contract had a higher likelihood of income reduction. The mean score of EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS was 0.95 (± 0.07) and 88.2 (± 11.0), respectively. The domain of Anxiety/Depression had the highest proportion of reporting any problems among 5 dimensions of EQ-5D-5L (38.7%). Being female, having chronic conditions and living in the family with 3–5 members were associated with lower HRQOL scores. A comprehensive assessment of the influence of COVID-19 along with public health interventions, especially mental health programs, should be implemented to mitigate the negative effects of this pandemic on the economic status and quality of life of citizens.
•The capacity of local authority and community on epidemics in Vietnam was moderate.•It is necessary to develop the action plan and response scenario for each setting.•Training for the core workforce ...in combating disease is extremely important.•The household surveys should be conducted to fulfill the knowledge gap.
Local authority’s response and community adaptive capacity are critically important for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, especially for the disease with an astonishing speed of spreading like COVID-19. This study aims to examine the perception on the capability of local authority’s response and community adaptation among core workforces in responding to acute events in Vietnam. Health professionals, medical students, and community workers in all regions of Vietnam were invited to participate in a web-based survey from December 2019 to February 2020. The snowball sampling technique was utilized to recruit respondents. The Tobit multivariable regression model was used to identify associated factors. The results showed that based on a 0–10 numeric rating scale, the mean scores of the capacity of local agencies and community adaptation were 6.2 ± 2 and 6.0 ± 1.8, respectively. Regarding local authority competencies, the lowest score went to “Adequate equipment, infrastructures and funding for disease prevention”. For community adaptation, the respondents evaluated the capacity on “Periodic training, equipment and drills to prepare for epidemic and disaster response” competency” with the lowest mark (5.2 ± 2.5). Overall, there were significant differences in the assessment of community adaptive capacity between urban and rural areas (p < 0.01). This study indicated the moderate capacity of the local authority and community adaptation on epidemics and disasters in Vietnam. It is critically necessary to develop the action plan, response scenario and strategies to optimize the utilization of equipment and human resources in combating epidemics for each setting.
This is the first time in Vietnam that people have undergone “social distancing” to minimize the spreading of infectious disease, COVID-19. These deliberate preemptive strategies may have profound ...impacts on the mental health of the population. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on Vietnamese people and associated factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study during a one-week social distancing and isolation from April 7 to 14, 2020, in Vietnam. A snowball sampling technique was carried out to recruit participants. Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was utilized to assess the psychological impacts of the COVID-19. Of all participants, 233 (16.4%) reported low level of PTSS; 76 (5.3%) rated as moderate, and 77 (5.4%) reported extreme psychological conditions. Being female, above 44 years old, or having a higher number of children in the family were positively associated with a higher level of psychological distress. Being self-employed/unemployed/retired was associated with a higher score of intrusion and hyperarousal subscale. Individuals who have a history of touching objects with the possibility of spreading coronavirus (utensils) were related to a higher level of avoidance. There were relatively high rates of participants suffering from PTSS during the first national lockdown related to COVID-19. Comprehensive strategies for the screen of psychological problems and to support high-risk groups are critical, especially females, middle-aged adults and the elderly, affected laborers, and health care professionals.
In this study, a sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor based on a zirconia oxide-decorated gold nanoflake nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode (AuNP/ZrO
2
/GCE) for the detection ...of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was developed. ZrO
2
was first synthesized using the sol–gel method and then drop-cast onto the electrode surface, followed by electrodeposition of AuNPs by chronoamperometry under acidic conditions. The as-prepared ZrO
2
nanoparticles had porous structures with pore sizes of 3.25 nm and particle sizes of 20–30 nm. The combination of an electrocatalytic and porous material ZrO
2
and a highly conductive material AuNPs might help to improve the electrochemical signals. Under the optimal conditions, the AuNP/ZrO
2
/GCE sensor is able to detect 2,4-DCP in a water environment at a detection limit as low as 0.053 µM within a wide linear range from 1.5 to 24 µM. The developed sensor was also employed for real samples collected from West Lake and showed good recoveries (95.4–101.8%). This is valuable when considering practical field applications of the sensor, especially in terms of on-site measurements.
Graphical abstract
This study examined the neuropsychiatric sequelae of acutely ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection who received treatment in hospital isolation wards during the COVID-19 ...pandemic. Ten COVID-19 patients who received treatment in various hospitals in Chongqing, China; 10 age- and gender-matched psychiatric patients; and 10 healthy control participants residing in the same city were recruited. All participants completed a survey that collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms in the past 14 days and psychological parameters. Face-to-face interviews with COVID-19 patients were also performed using semi-structured questions. Among the COVID-19 patients, 40% had abnormal findings on the chest computed topography scan, 20% had dysosmia, 10% had dysgeusia, and 80% had repeated positivity on COVID-19 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. COVID-19 and psychiatric patients were significantly more worried about their health than healthy controls (p = 0.019). A greater proportion of COVID-19 patients experienced impulsivity (p = 0.016) and insomnia (p = 0.039) than psychiatric patients and healthy controls. COVID-19 patients reported a higher psychological impact of the outbreak than psychiatric patients and healthy controls, with half of them having clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. COVID-19 and psychiatric patients had higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress than healthy controls. Three themes emerged from the interviews with COVID-19 patients: (i) The emotions experienced by patients after COVID-19 infection (i.e., shock, fear, despair, hope, and boredom); (ii) the external factors that affected patients' mood (i.e., discrimination, medical expenses, care by healthcare workers); and (iii) coping and self-help behavior (i.e., distraction, problem-solving and online support). The future direction in COVID-19 management involves the development of a holistic inpatient service to promote immune and psychological resilience.
Health personnel and community workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 emergency response and need to be equipped with adequate knowledge related to epidemics for an effective response. This ...study aimed to identify the coverage of COVID-19 health information via different sources accessed by health workers and community workers in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was carried out from January to February 2020 in Vietnam. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used for recruiting participants. We utilized the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine the construct validity of the questionnaire. A higher percentage of participants knew about "Clinical and pathogen characteristics of COVID-19", compared to "Regulations and policies related to COVID-19". The percentage of participants accessing the information on "Guidelines and policies on prevention and control of COVID-19" was the lowest, especially among medical students. "Mass media and peer-educators" channels had a higher score of accessing COVID-19 information, compared to "Organizations/ agencies/ associations" sources. Participants consumed most of their COVID-19 information via "Internet, online newspapers, social networks". Our findings indicate an urgency to re-design training programs and communication activities for a more effective dissemination of information related to the COVID-19 epidemic or epidemics in general.
•Vietnamese industrial workers suffer high risk of COVID-19.•Local health facilities, pharmacies to involve in detecting and reporting cases.•Local health gate-keepers to deliver appropriate COVID-19 ...response.•Having COVID-19 testing centers at or near industrial sites also recommended.
The detection of first COVID-19 infected industrial worker in Vietnam on 13 April 2020 prompted timely effort to examine the health problems, behaviors, and health services access of industrial workers to inform effective and appropriate COVID-19 control measures, minimizing the risk of industrial sites becoming the next disease cluster. A search strategy involving search terms corresponding to ‘health’, ‘industrial worker’, and ‘Vietnam’ was applied to search for related papers published in English on Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Duplicates were removed, and relevant data were extracted from the full text of remaining publications. Results showed that underlying health problems, including respiratory system problems, were common among industrial workers. Many suffered occupational diseases and/or work-related injuries. Self-treatment (without medication) was the most used method when having health problems (by 28.2–51% of participants), followed by visiting commune health centers (24%) and self-medication (20.3%). Findings suggest a high risk of disease spreading among industrial workers and of them suffering more severe conditions when infected. Economic vulnerabilities may be the reason for workers’ reluctance to taking time off work to attend hospital/clinic. These imply a need for involving local pharmacies, commune health centers, traditional health providers or village health collaborators as local health gatekeepers who are the first point of detecting and reporting of suspected COVID-19 cases, as well as a channel where accurate information regarding COVID-19, protective equipment, and intervention packages can be delivered. Having COVID-19 testing centers at or near industrial sites are also recommended.
This study aimed to evaluate the psychological effects of the partial lockdown on the people in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire regarding attitudes toward COVID-19 along ...with psychological parameters, including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was conducted. From a total of 1,382 questionnaires, the respondents reported low prevalence of depression (4.9%), anxiety (7.0%), and stress (3.4%). The mean DASS-21 scores recorded were also markedly lower compared to similar studies conducted in China, Italy, and Iran. Respondents who reported severe PTSD had significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Factors that were associated with an increased level of depression, stress, and anxiety were being single, separated, or widowed, a higher education level, a larger family size, loss of jobs and being in contact with potential COVID-19 patients. Contrary to expectations, the level of depression, stress, and anxiety observed has been low. Our findings can aid in future research on the impact of a partial lockdown and guide mental health professionals in Vietnam and other countries in the preparation of better care for populations under such circumstances.
This paper describes the effective fabrication of an inverse opal (IO) structure for plasmon-induced hyperthermia applications using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) doped in a conducting polymer of ...poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT). Indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates were firstly modified electrochemically by a layer of the inverse opal structure of PEDOT (IO-PEDOT). These as-prepared electrodes were subsequently used as working electrodes for electrodepositing AgNPs. The presence of plasmonic AgNPs doped inside a polymer network caused the hybrid of IO-PEDOT and AgNPs to generate significantly more heat than thin-film PEDOT, thin-film PEDOT/AgNPs, and IO-PEDOT under 532 nm laser irradiation. This is attributed to the synergistic effect of the large active area inverse opal structure and doped AgNPs, which exhibit more thermal energy and heat faster than the individual component structures. These findings point to a wide range of potential applications for hybrid IO-PEDOT/AgNPs in hyperthermia treatment.
This paper describes the effective fabrication of an inverse opal (IO) structure for plasmon-induced hyperthermia applications using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) doped in a conducting polymer of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT).
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