Suchergebnisse

In the inland sandy areas along the central coast of Vietnam, there is a specific type of ecosystem that local people call a sand forest. Over time, despite many economic, political, and social upheavals, local people in some places still maintain these sand forests. In this study, we aimed to investigate the determinants and challenges of community sand forest management in coastal north central Vietnam. For this purpose, we explore insights regarding the changing roles of sand forests in community perception, community challenges, and the role of stakeholders in sand forest management. We then discuss policy implications for sustainable sand forest management. By applying focus group discussions, household surveys, and in-depth interviews, this study found that local people have used village conventions to manage the sand forest for hundreds of years because they have been aware of the role of the sand forest in daily life, especially the spiritual and environmental roles of the sand forest. However, sand forest management is confusing and inefficient due to the neglect of the role of traditional organizations. Along with this, local people face several challenges, such as conflicts over the use of sand forests, and a lack of recognition of the community's legal rights to such forests. Based on these results, some policy implications are proposed, such as strengthening the participation of related stakeholders, and providing coordination between traditional organizations and local authorities in forest management and conflict management in forest use. It is necessary to promote the allocation of sand forests to local communities so that they have the legal rights to effectively manage and protect their forests and to obtain potential benefits in the future.

Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of global disease burden. Vietnam, among other low- and middle-income countries, bears nearly 90% of the ischemic stroke burden. This study was a cost-of-illness study conducted from the healthcare system perspective to estimate the direct medical costs and associated factors for acute ischemic stroke patients at Bach Mai Hospital, a major hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 500 eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke at the Neurology Department of Bach Mai Hospital from July 2021 to December 2021 were included. Patient characteristics and treatment information were collected via medical records and patient interviews. The majority of the patients were men (65.8%), with a mean age of 65.3 years. The average direct medical cost per patient was 10.5 ± 7.3 million Vietnam Dong (~454.2 ± 313.8 US dollars). The cost of hospital beds accounted for most of the total cost (34.6%), followed by medications and infusion fluid costs (27%) and diagnostic imaging (12.6%). Factors significantly associated with higher direct medical costs were the duration of stay, stroke severity, complications, number of comorbidities, and intravenous thrombolysis treatment. The study highlighted the need for a reduction in the duration of hospital stay and an improvement in onset-to-hospital arrival time.