Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Young patients and their families will benefit
from the , ’s initiative to improve
respiratory disease management in Vietnam.
The Healthy Lung programme aims to improve the quality of outpatient management
of asthma and (COPD) in nine Asian
countries. Vietnam is among the first countries to implement this programme in
2017 under the guidance of MSA.
During the second phase from 2020–23, the programme expanded to more fields of
lung cancer and pediatric care with the participation of four partners (the
Vietnam Lung Association, Vietnam Respiratory Association, Ho Chi Minh
Association of Asthma, Allergy & Clinical Immunology and Vietnam Pediatrics
Association) and five leading oncology hospitals (K Hospital, HCM Oncology
Hospital, Da Nang Oncology Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital and Hanoi Oncology
Hospital).
The programme was announced by the Medical Service Association under the
Ministry of Health (MSA), AstraZeneca Vietnam and professional associations at
an expert discussion at the Ministry of Health.
It is expected that in the next phase, the programme will be expanded to the
field of pediatric respiratory diseases with the participation of the Vietnam
Pediatric Association.
Accordingly, the Vietnam Pediatrics Association, a new partner of the
programme, will lead specialised activities for pediatric patients to enhance
and synchronise respiratory care capabilities for children. Key activities
include raising awareness of disease management, providing medical equipment,
and developing treatment guidelines to strengthen the capacity of health
workers throughout the patient journey.
“We are delighted to witness Healthy Lung’s important contributions to
reduce the disease burden and help to standardise outpatient management care
for asthma, COPD and lung cancer. Caring for children with respiratory diseases
is another important area that the MSA highly encourages, and we are delighted
by the determination of AstraZeneca and professional associations to care for
this group, especially children living with bronchial asthma, and will guide
the implementation in the coming time,” said MSA director Prof. Dr. Luong Ngoc
Khue, Vice Chairman – the National Medical Council.
Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director, AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area
Frontier Markets, said: “Children’s health is crucial to a nation’s future, I
am truly confident that the Healthy Lung programme will enable better care for
children with respiratory diseases in the community and help them grow up
healthier.”
To date, the programme has reached and managed more than 200,000 patients, set
up 150 standardised clinics and organized more than 260 scientific seminars for
nearly 14,000 medical staff members. In this new phase, the partners organised
activities on digital and social media such as Youtube, and online patient
education events besides its website http://vilaphoikhoe.kcb.vn, fan page
https://www.facebook.com/vilaphoikhoe.
Among the most common respiratory diseases in Vietnamese children, the
prevalence of bronchial asthma is 10 per cent, double the rate in adults, and
it has constantly increased during the last five years. Respiratory diseases in
children are more difficult to diagnose, treat and manage than in adults. Many
factors such as low awareness, parents’ self-medication, children’s
unwillingness to adhere to treatment, limited medical equipment and essential
drugs at the grassroots level are impacting the quality of pediatric
respiratory disease management./.
Source: VietnamPlus
