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Wofford

Publication Date

Fall 2012

Program Name

Vietnam: Culture, Social Change, and Development

Abstract

Vietnam’s rapid economic development after 1986 forever changed the lifestyle of the Vietnamese. Economic development has highly impacted behavior, “changing from a traditional lifestyle to an industrial lifestyle [increasing] noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) : diabetes, overweight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol disorders” (Danh, Personal Interview). With the increase of NCDs within the country, it is important to focus on awareness education that motivates the population especially those living in the urban sector to practice healthy behaviors. This study project focuses on the evaluating the reach and effectiveness of current diabetes awareness educational materials. One week was spent in Ha Noi, gathering background information from experts including medical professionals at the National Hospital of Endocrinology, one of the largest treatment and care centers for diabetes in the country. The second portion of the project was spent conducting a case study in Binh Duong, a province well-known for its industrial economic stronghold. My results and analysis are based on expert insights, NHE’s 2011 large-scale survey, and my case study interviews with twenty-six Binh Duong residents. I focused my analysis based on age and occupations of my case study participants. I was also able to gather insight into the effectiveness of exposure and comprehension of awareness material through interviewing the participant. According to the NHE survey and my case study, there is a large amount of awareness material channeling through mass media, posters, leaflets, and medical staff, however comprehension of diabetes knowledge is low. With a tight budget for awareness communications, it is important that the communications tools utilized by the NHE and provincial centers are reaching those at high-risk from diabetes and other non-communicable diseases with comprehensible information and realistic advice. The next step in perpetuating awareness throughout the country is to identify the best communication method and to focus the awareness materials on healthy living styles of diet and exercise, as expressed by many case study participants and experts.

Disciplines

Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism | Primary Care | Public Health | Public Health Education and Promotion

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