Background: We aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS) into Vietnamese. Methods: We followed the guidelines of Beaton et al. during the translation and adaptation process. In Stage I, two translators translated the GMAS to Vietnamese. Stage II involved synthesizing the two translations. Stage III featured a back translation. Stage IV included an expert committee review and the creation of the pre-final version of the GMAS, and in stage V, pilot testing was conducted on 42 Vietnamese patients with type 2 diabetes. The psychometric validation process evaluated the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. The construct validity was determined by an association examination between the levels of adherence and patient characteristics. The content validity was based on the opinion and assessment score by the expert committee. The Vietnamese version of the GMAS was created, including 11 items divided into three domains. There was a good equivalence between the English and the Vietnamese versions of the GMAS in all four criteria. Results: One hundred and seventy-seven patients were participating in the psychometric validation process. Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable for all questionnaire items (0.817). Spearman’s correlation coefficient of the test–retest reliability was acceptable for the GMAS (0.879). There are significant correlations between medication adherence levels and occupation, income, and the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) score regarding construct validity. Conclusions: The Vietnamese version of GMAS can be considered a reliable and valid tool for assessing medication adherence in Vietnamese patients.

Background: Our study was conducted to determine the prevalence of drug-related problems (DRPs) in outpatient prescriptions, the impact of DRPs on treatment efficacy, safety, and cost, and the determinants of DRPs in prescribing for pediatric outpatients in Vietnam. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on pediatric outpatients at a pediatric hospital in Can Tho, Vietnam. DRPs were classified according to the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe classification (PCNE) of 2020. The study determined prevalence of DRPs and their impacts on efficacy, safety, and cost. Multivariate regression was used to identify the determinants of DRPs. Results: The study included 4339 patients (mean age 4.3, 55.8% male), with a total of 3994 DRPs, averaging 0.92 DRP/prescription. The proportion of prescriptions with at least one DRP was 65.7%. DRPs included inappropriate drug selection (35.6%), wrong time of dosing relative to meals (35.6%), inappropriate dosage form (9.3%), inappropriate indication (7.1%), and drug-drug interactions (0.3%). The consensus of experts was average when evaluating each aspect of efficiency reduction, safety reduction, and treatment cost increase, with Fleiss’ coefficients of 0.558, 0.511, and 0.541, respectively (p < 0.001). Regarding prescriptions, 50.1% were assessed as reducing safety. The figures for increased costs and decreased treatment effectiveness were 29.0% and 23.9%, respectively. Patients who were ≤2 years old were more likely to have DRPs than patients aged 2 to 6 years old (OR = 0.696; 95% CI = 0.599–0.809) and patients aged over 6 years old (OR = 0.801; 95% CI = 0.672–0.955). Patients who had respiratory system disease were more likely to have DRPs than patients suffering from other diseases (OR = 0.715; 95% CI = 0.607–0.843). Patients with comorbidities were less likely to have DRPs than patients with no comorbidities (OR = 1.421; 95% CI = 1.219–1.655). Patients prescribed ≥5 drugs were more likely to have DRPs than patients who took fewer drugs (OR = 3.677; 95% CI = 2.907–4.650). Conclusion: The proportion of prescriptions in at least one DRP was quite high. Further studies should evaluate clinical significance and appropriate interventions, such as providing drug information and consulting doctors about DRPs.

Background: Inappropriate antibiotic use among outpatients is recognized as the primary driver of antibiotic resistance. A proper understanding of appropriate antibiotic usage and associated factors helps to determine and limit inappropriateness. We aimed to identify the rate of appropriate use of antibiotics and identify factors associated with the inappropriate prescriptions. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in outpatient antibiotic use at a hospital in Can Tho City, Vietnam, from August 1, 2019, to January 31, 2020. Data were extracted from all outpatient prescriptions at the Medical Examination Department and analyzed by SPSS 18 and Chi-squared tests, with 95% confidence intervals. The rationale for antibiotic use was evaluated through antibiotic selection, dose, dosing frequency, dosing time, interactions between antibiotics and other drugs, and general appropriate usage. Results: A total of 420 prescriptions were 51.7% for females, 61.7% with health insurance, and 44.0% for patients with one comorbid condition. The general appropriate antibiotic usage rate was 86.7%. Prescriptions showed that 11.0% and 9.5% had a higher dosing frequency and dose than recommended, respectively; 10.2% had an inappropriate dosing time; 3.1% had drug interactions; and only 1.7% had been prescribed inappropriate antibiotics. The risk of inappropriate antibiotic use increased in patients with comorbidities and antibiotic treatment lasting >7 days (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The study indicated a need for more consideration when prescribing antibiotics to patients with comorbidities or using more than 7 days of treatment.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and determinants of medication adherence among patients with HIV/AIDS in southern Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital in southern Vietnam from June to December 2019 on patients who began antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months. Using a designed questionnaire, patients were considered adherent if they took correct medicines with right doses, on time and properly with food and beverage and had follow-up visits as scheduled. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify determinants of adherence. Key findings: A total of 350 patients (from 861 medical records) were eligible for the study. The majority of patients were male (62.9%), and the dominant age group (≥35 years old) accounted for 53.7% of patients. Sexual intercourse was the primary route of transmission of HIV (95.1%). The proportions of participants who took the correct medicine and at a proper dose were 98.3% and 86.3%, respectively. In total, 94.9% of participants took medicine appropriately in combination with food and beverage, and 75.7% of participants were strictly adherent to ART. The factors marital status (odds ratio (OR) = 2.54; 95%CI = 1.51–4.28), being away from home (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.03–2.78), substance abuse (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.44–5.05), general knowledge about ART (OR = 2.75; 95%CI = 1.67–4.53), stopping medication after improvement (OR = 4.16; 95%CI = 2.29–7.56) and self-assessment of therapy adherence (OR = 9.83; 95%CI = 5.44–17.77) were significantly associated with patients’ adherence. Conclusions: Three-quarters of patients were adherent to ART. Researchers should consider these determinants of adherence in developing interventions in further studies.

This study aimed to assess the knowledge of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and the associated factors in HIV-infected patients in Vietnam. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of 350 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients being treated with ARV at outpatient clinics at Soc Trang, Vietnam, from June 2019 to December 2019. Using an interview questionnaire, patients who answered at least eight out of nine questions correctly, including some required questions, were considered to have a general knowledge of ARV treatment. Using multivariate logistic regression to identify factors associated with knowledge of ARV treatment, we found that 62% of HIV-infected patients had a general knowledge of ARV treatment, with a mean score of 8.2 (SD 1.4) out of 9 correct. A higher education level (p < 0.001); working away from home (p = 0.013); getting HIV transmitted by injecting drugs or from mother-to-child contact (p = 0.023); the presence of tension, anxiety, or stress (p = 0.005); self-reminding to take medication (p = 0.024); and a high self-evaluated adherence (p < 0.001) were found to be significantly associated with an adequate knowledge of ARV treatment. In conclusion, education programs for patients, as well as the quality of medical services and support, should be strengthened.

Background: Children are at high risk of drug-related problems, increased risk of treatment failures, and high treatment costs. We aimed to evaluate the effect of pharmacist-led interventions on physicians’ prescribing for pediatric outpatients. Methods: A prospective study with pre- and post-intervention measurement assessment was conducted to collect pediatric outpatients’ prescriptions during the pre-intervention period (January 2020) and post-intervention (August 2020) at a children’s hospital in Vietnam. Drug-related problems were identified and categorized according to Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE), version 9.1. The intervention program was developed based on the results of pre-intervention observations. After the intervention, prescriptions were evaluated. Statistical tests were used to compare the proportions of drug-related problems before and after the intervention and to identify factors related to drug-related problems. Results: There were 2788 out of 4218 (66.1%) prescriptions with at least one drug-related problem before the intervention. Of these drug-related problems, the most common was inappropriate timing of administration and incorrect dosage (36.1% and 35.6%, respectively). After the intervention, the percentage of prescriptions with at least one drug-related problem was 45.5% (p < 0.001). Most of the drug-related problem types decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that in addition to pharmacists’ intervention, patients’ gender, primary disease, comorbidity status, and the total number of drugs prescribed were also factors related to drug-related problems. Conclusions: Drug-related problems in pediatric outpatients were quite common. Pharmacists’ intervention helped to improve the prevalence and types of drug-related problems.