The project on enhancing primary health care sponsored by Novartis Vietnam Co., Ltd., Ho Chi Minh City, has been implemented in the 3 communes and wards of Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa Province...
The project on enhancing primary health care sponsored by Novartis Vietnam Co., Ltd., Ho Chi Minh City, has been implemented in the 3 communes and wards of Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa Province for over 1 year, and gained some initial satisfactory results in health care support.
Benefiting from screening examination and treatment
The project on enhancing primary health care has been developed in the 3 localities of Ninh Quang, Ninh Ha and Ninh Son in Ninh Hoa Town since 2021 in order to improve primary health care in the community through prevention and management models of non-communicable diseases.
Having benefiting from the project, 50-year-old Nguyen Dinh Tho, Phu Hoa Village, Ninh Quang was detected to have hypertension and thus asked to follow a treatment plan consistently for over half a year. “My hypertension was detected in the screening examination. After regular medication, my blood pressure has stabilized and the symptoms of headache, dizziness, shortness of breath and heart palpitations have eased."
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Thanks to the support of the project, from early 2021 to March 2022, Ninh Quang Commune Medical Station held 71 health care propaganda sessions, providing screening check-up for hypertension and diabetes in the community for over 4,000 people, accounting for 82.5% of the population. Besides, commune health officials opened 73 health care propaganda sessions, providing at-home screening examination for 596 people. 650 were diagnosed with hypertension and 1,700 others with diabetes. When transferred to the higher levels of care, 334 people were detected with hypertension and 63 with diabetes. All of the patients were put on the list for management and treatment at the commune health care facilities.
Besides with new cases detected through the project, 1,100 with hypertension and 217 with diabetes are under the commune’s medical treatment and management. The support activities have helped increase public awareness of positive lifestyles against hypertension and diabetes; as well as assisted medical stations in early diagnosis, management and treatment of the 2 diseases, according to Nguyen Van Trong, Head of Ninh Quang Commune Medical Station.
Setting up coordination mechanism
The project activities include propaganda sessions held by medical stations together with at-home screening check-ups for those aged 40 or older. Younger ones suspected with hypertension and diabetes will be transferred to high levels of care for diagnosis and confirmation. Confirmed cases will be managed and treated by medical stations.
The project has been developed in the 3 localities of Ninh Quang, Ninh Ha and Ninh Son in Ninh Hoa Town since early 2021. For over 15 months of operation, the project has organized 144 propaganda sessions to improve public awareness of risks and prevention of non-communicable diseases for nearly 8,000 residents; provided at-home medical screening for 880 families with members suffering from or at risk of hypertension; and taken 2,688 people with risk factors for the disease to medical stations. More than 9,700 hypertension patients who already have stable, well-controlled blood pressure have continued treatment undergone management at medical stations. Besides, professional development has been provided for nearly 20 officials of commune and ward medical stations.
Thanks to the propaganda and medical screening, residents have become more aware of hypertension and diabetes. The project has also established coordination mechanism in information exchange and patient transfer between medical stations and medical centers or hospitals in the diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases. However, during the implementation, the project has also met some challenges due to staffing shortage, insufficient facilities for medical screening at medical stations, etc, according to Dr. Ton That Toan, Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control.
In 2022, the project will continue its activities already implemented, enhance at-home propaganda as well as patient management information exchange; and make personal health management records for all cases detected via health screening.
The project aims to improve professional competence of medical staff at grassroots-level facilities and increase the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, especially improve prevention and management of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, contributing to improving primary health care in the communities benefiting from the project.
C.Dan
Translated by N.T
