HIV self-testing has emerged as a safe and effective approach to increase the access to and uptake of HIV testing and treatment, especially for key populations. Applying self-testing to hepatitis C virus (HCV) may also offer an additional way to address low coverage of HCV testing and to accelerate elimination efforts. To understand the potential for HCV self-testing (HCVST), an observational study was conducted to assess the acceptability and usability of the OraQuick^® HCV Self-Test (prototype) among people who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Thai Nguyen, a province in northern Vietnam. A total of 105 PWID and 104 MSM were eligible and agreed to participate in the study. Acceptability, defined as the proportion of participants among eligible subjects who agreed to participate in the study, was 92.9% in PWID and 98.6% in MSM. Compared to MSM, PWID were older (median age: 45 vs. 22 years; p < 0.0001) and had a lower education level (high school and college: 38.1% vs. 100%; p < 0.0001). HCVST usability was high among MSM with fewer observed mistakes, difficulties, or participants requiring assistance (33.7%, 28.8%, and 17.3%, respectively) compared to PWID (62.9%, 53.3%, and 66.7%, respectively; all p < 0.0001)). Inter-reader and inter-operator agreement were good in both groups (Kappa coefficient range: 0.61–0.99). However, the concordance between HCVST and study staff -read or performed HCV testing was lower among PWID than MSM (inter-reader concordance 88.6% vs. 99.0% and inter-operator concordance 81.9% vs. 99%). Overall, HCVST was highly acceptable with moderate to high usability among PWID and MSM in Thai Nguyen. Efforts to provide support and assistance may be needed to optimize performance, particularly for PWID populations and for those who are older and with lower literacy or education levels.

To investigate, in the Republic of Korea, whether local governments’ participation in an anti-smoking programme supported by the National Health Promotion Fund in 2002–2003 was related to the percentage of local tax revenue comprised by the tobacco consumption tax (TCT). Using financial and administrative data on 163 municipalities, the authors estimated logit models of local governments’ participation in the anti-smoking programme as a function of the proportion of local tax revenue that came from the TCT and a set of control variables, namely local socioeconomic characteristics and the size of the staff in the local public health centre (PHC). Local governments that derived a greater percentage of their local tax revenue from the TCT, particularly those that ranked in the upper fourth in terms of this percentage, were less likely to participate in the anti-smoking programme. Insufficient staff in the PHC was also found to be associated with lower participation in the anti-smoking programme. Local governments’ dependence on revenue from the TCT may be a deterrent to tobacco control in the Republic of Korea.

Park K. J Glob Health Sci. 2019 Nov;1(2):e49. https://doi.org/10.35500/jghs.2019.1.e49

Objectives: This paper explores changes in the level of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure at indoor workplaces between 2010 and 2015 in Viet Nam and the association between the exposure and various demographic factors, using data from Viet Nam’s Global Adult Tobacco Surveys (GATS) 2010 and 2015. Methods: Data was pooled from the two GATS surveys and analysed using descriptive and Poisson regression analyses. Results: There was a highly statistically significant reduction in the level of SHS exposure at indoor workplaces from 55.9% to 42.6% (p

Introduction: Vietnam is among the countries with the highest smoking prevalence among male adults, as well as high prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure at indoor places. In many countries, including Vietnam, exposure to tobacco smoking is greatest in restaurants/bars and hotels. This study aims to analyze the compliance of hotels and restaurants to smoke-free environment regulations before and after an intervention. Methods: Direct observations were done at the receptions, conference rooms, designated smoking areas, restaurants, and lobbies of 140 hotels and the dining rooms, kitchens, and toilets of 160 restaurants before and after an intervention. The intervention was a training course conducted by police officers followed by 3 monthly supervision visits by police officers. Compliance with smoke-free enviornment regulations was observed and assessed to generate a compliance score for each location and overall. Tobit regression was used to examine the relationship between compliance scores and the intervention and other variables such as hotel and restaurant characteristics. Results: Before the intervention, the highest compliance rates were found for “no tobacco advertisement” and “no cigarette selling” regulations (95%-100%) in almost all sites in hotels and restaurants. The lowest compliance rates were found for “having nonsmoking signs.” The rate of compliance with all regulations was only 5% for hotels and 0.06% of restaurants. Improvement after intervention was clearly observed, in the rate of compliance with all regulations by more hotels (15.7%) and overall compliance scores of hotels and restaurants. Conclusions: The intervention with participation of the police officers proved to be effective in improving compliance with smoke-free regulations. It is recommended to continue this intervention in the same areas as well as to expand the intervention to other areas.

The World Health Organisation established the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) strategy to reduce the global burden of malaria in 1998. A set of RBM indicators will not be suitable to the Republic of Korea due to the differences of the epidemiological and socio-cultural situation. Therefore, we have developed a framework and indicators for monitoring the outcomes and impact of the national malaria eradication programme that are appropriate for the situation in Korea. We reviewed the existing data in the national malaria eradication programme. We adopted general principles in developing a monitoring framework and indicators for monitoring RBM. Monitoring areas were recombined components and content that included the project plan, training health personnel, health education and public information, supply for manpower, equipment and materials, disease control, information system, supervision, community participation, intersectoral collaboration within practical guidelines for the national malaria eradication programme along with malaria control and RBM strategy of WHO. Twenty one monitoring areas were selected that identified critical areas for the national malaria eradication programme. Fifteen indicators of ten categories are proposed for use by the national malaria eradication programme in Korea. Asia Pac J Public Health 2003; 15(1): 44-49.