Health status and health service utilization in remote and mountainous areas in Vietnam.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101153626 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1477-7525 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14777525 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Qual Life Outcomes Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [London] : BioMed Central, c2003-

Health Status*; Health Services/*statistics & numerical data ; Health Services Accessibility/*statistics & numerical data ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/*statistics & numerical data ; Rural Population/*statistics & numerical data; Adult ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quality of Life ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Vietnam ; Young Adult

Background: Self-rated health status and healthcare services utilization are important indicators to evaluate the performance of health system. In disadvantaged areas, however, little is known about the access and outcomes of health care services. This study aimed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL), health status and healthcare access and utilization of residents in mountainous and remote areas in Vietnam.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a convenient sample of residents in two provinces of Vietnam. Information about socio-economic, health status, HRQOL, healthcare seeking and services utilization were interviewed. EuroQol - 5 Dimensions - 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5 L) was used to measure HRQOL.
Results: Of 200 respondents, mean age was 44.9 (SD = 13.9), 38.0 % were male. One third reported having any problem in Mobility, Usual activities, Pain or Discomfort, Anxiety or Depression. Women tended to suffer more problems in Pain/Discomfort and Anxiety/Depression and lower overall HRQOL than men. Over 90 % of respondents reported at least one health problem. Flu, cold and headache were the most commonly reported symptoms (41.5 %). Most of people preferred community health center when they had illness (96.0 %). Only 18.5 % people used traditional healers with the average of 5.8 times per year. Ethnicity, households' expenditure, illness and morbidity status, difficulty in accessing health care services were related to HRQOL.; Meanwhile, socioeconomic status, health problems, quality of services, and distances were associated with access to healthcare and traditional medicine services.
Conclusions: Residents in difficult-to-reach areas had high prevalence of health problems and experienced social and structural barriers of healthcare services access. It is necessary to improve the availability and quality of healthcare and traditional medicine services to improve the health status of disadvantaged people.

BMC Public Health. 2014 Aug 11;14:833. (PMID: 25113528)
Qual Life Res. 2015 Nov;24(11):2807-14. (PMID: 26038217)
Niger J Clin Pract. 2013 Oct-Dec;16(4):454-7. (PMID: 23974738)
J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2010 Apr;8(1):10-4. (PMID: 21879006)
J Eval Clin Pract. 2007 Dec;13(6):882-8. (PMID: 18070258)
BMC Health Serv Res. 2014 Sep 10;14:379. (PMID: 25209379)
Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2012 Jul;12(3):397-404. (PMID: 22122544)
Int J Equity Health. 2006 Jun 29;5:7. (PMID: 16808838)
Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Feb 1;175(3):228-35. (PMID: 22193172)
BMC Public Health. 2010 Sep 11;10:549. (PMID: 20831822)
Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Nov;24(6):e105-10. (PMID: 23937854)
Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Jul;5(4):459-77. (PMID: 22943125)
AIDS Care. 2011 Oct;23(10):1236-45. (PMID: 21711211)
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2012 Nov 01;10:132. (PMID: 23116130)
AIDS Care. 2012;24(10):1187-96. (PMID: 22375681)
Heart. 2006 Oct;92(10):1396-401. (PMID: 16547204)
Soc Sci Med. 2004 Dec;59(12):2585-95. (PMID: 15474211)
Qual Life Res. 2012 May;21(4):613-23. (PMID: 21732198)
Health Policy Plan. 2010 Jul;25(4):262-71. (PMID: 20038572)
Ophthalmology. 2014 Nov;121(11):2138-46. (PMID: 25012931)
Health Care Manage Rev. 2007 Jan-Mar;32(1):22-9. (PMID: 17245199)
Glob Health Action. 2013 Mar 04;6:1-19. (PMID: 23462107)
Scand J Public Health Suppl. 2003;62:52-8. (PMID: 14649642)
Int J Equity Health. 2012 Aug 16;11:44. (PMID: 22894180)
J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2015 Apr-Jun;7(2):136-44. (PMID: 25883518)
J Health Psychol. 2014 Jun;19(6):721-9. (PMID: 23479301)
Scand J Public Health. 2002;30(2):86-93. (PMID: 12028857)
PLoS One. 2014 Aug 14;9(8):e103825. (PMID: 25122180)
Health Policy. 2008 Mar;85(3):263-76. (PMID: 17931736)
PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e41062. (PMID: 22911742)
Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):190-7. (PMID: 15039503)
BMC Health Serv Res. 2015 Jan 22;15:7. (PMID: 25609449)
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2003 Oct-Dec;18(4):293-311. (PMID: 14727709)
Soc Sci Med. 2005 Nov;61(9):1993-2006. (PMID: 15922498)
BMC Public Health. 2011 Sep 06;11:690. (PMID: 21896194)
Bull World Health Organ. 2013 Jul 1;91(7):475-82. (PMID: 23825874)
Qual Life Res. 2002 May;11(3):273-82. (PMID: 12074264)
Glob Health Action. 2012 Dec 22;5:1-12. (PMID: 23273251)
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2012 Jan 26;10:11. (PMID: 22280521)
Asia Pac J Public Health. 2012 Jul;24(4):610-9. (PMID: 21490104)
AIDS Care. 2012;24(3):283-90. (PMID: 21936718)
Int J Equity Health. 2009 Jul 14;8:25. (PMID: 19602244)
BMC Public Health. 2010 Oct 16;10:614. (PMID: 20950479)

Keywords: Accessibility; Health service; Mountainous; Quality of life; Remote; Self-rated health; Utilization; Vietnam

Date Created: 20160609 Date Completed: 20161213 Latest Revision: 20240325

20240325

PMC4895985

10.1186/s12955-016-0485-8

27267367