Antibiotic-Resistant Gram-negative Bacteria Carriage in Healthcare Workers Working in an Intensive Care Unit

Duong Bich Thuy,Duong Minh Cuong,Campbell James,Nguyen Van Minh Hoang,Nguyen Huu Hien,Bui Thi Bich Hanh,Nguyen Van Vinh Chau,McLaws Mary-Louise 대한감염학회 2021 Infection and Chemotherapy Vol.53 No.3

Little is known about antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) intestinal carriage among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Vietnam. All HCWs at a tertiary intensive care units were asked to undertake weekly rectal swabs. Among 40 participants, 65% (26/40) carried extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL)/AmpC β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. Two HCWs colonized with ESBL/AmpC β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. One HCW colonized with Acinetobacter baumannii. No one carried Pseudomonas spp.. A quarter (10/40) of HCWs were identified as persistent and frequent carriers. There is an urgent need to screen antibiotic-resistant GNB among HCWs and improve HCWs’ hand hygiene compliance to reduce the transmission of antibiotic-resistant GNB in the hospital.

The Levels of COVID-19 Related Health Literacy among University Students in Vietnam

Duong Minh Cuong,Nguyen Hong Trang,Duong Bich Thuy,Vu Minh Thuy 대한감염학회 2021 Infection and Chemotherapy Vol.53 No.1

Background: Vietnam is among the few countries that were successful in the fight against the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, subsequent domestic outbreaks of COVID-19 continue to occur. To sharp the community education program to guarantee the final success in the fight against COVID-19 in Vietnam and comparable countries, we examined the levels of COVID-19 knowledge and associated predictors among university students in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on all students enrolling at Phenikaa University using a self-developed questionnaire consisted of 20 questions regarding COVID-19's risk factors, transmission routes, symptoms, and prevention. Results: Among 728 participants, 40.9% were male, 63.2% studied health-related majors, and 18.1% lived alone. Correct response rates ranged from 25.3% to 98.9% across 20 questions. Only 51.9% (378/728) of participants had good knowledge levels. Studying health majors (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.547, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.398 - 0.751, P <0.001), and living with the seniors (AOR 0.612, 95% CI 0.389 - 0.963, P = 0.034) or with friends (AOR 0.405, 95% CI 0.252 – 0.650, P <0.001) were negatively associated with a poor level of COVID-19 knowledge. Conclusion: The proportion of university students having good knowledge levels is suboptimal. It is essential to improve the quality of COVID-19 education with a more focus on not only the preventive measures, but also the disease itself. More studies are needed to improve the level of COVID-19 knowledge among those living alone or do not study healthrelated majors.

Who Influences the Public Intention to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine and What are the Public References and Concerns? A Population Survey in Vietnam

Duong Minh Cuong,Nguyen Hong Trang,Duong Bich Thuy 대한감염학회 2021 Infection and Chemotherapy Vol.53 No.4

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance is influenced by the trusted recommenders. This survey examined the public references, concerns, and trust in seven groups of recommenders regarding COVID-19 vaccine in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1,579 participants between April 16 and July 16, 2021. Participants’ references, concerns, and responses to vaccination recommendations made by government officials, employers, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, senior family members, and religious leaders were captured using a selfadministered questionnaire. Results: Rates of trust ranged from 18.5% to 89.1%. The highest rates were attributable to government (89.1%) and physicians (85.9%). Less than half of participants would accept the vaccines if pharmacists (45.5%), nurses (44.7%), employers (42.4%), senior family members (28.1%), and religious leaders (18.4%) recommended it. Only 37.6% of participants thought that vaccines were safe for them, while 57% were unsure. Most participants would wait and see how people respond to the vaccines before getting vaccinated (91.5%), preferred to receive the vaccines at public hospitals (88.6%), and were concerned about vaccine effectiveness (86.9%) and side effects (76.4%), while 61.8% were concerned about vaccine cost. Conclusion: Focusing on the personal benefit and relying on the government, physicians, and social role models would make the vaccine advertising campaigns more effective. If annual vaccinations were needed, providing the community with affordable vaccines would be an appropriate, long-term solution to ensure vaccination coverage in low-resource countries like Vietnam. Further studies are needed to examine reasons for the public reference of vaccination centers which may help in improving their confidence in getting the vaccine, regardless of the settings.

The Impact of Capital Requirement on Bank Performance: Empirical Evidence from Vietnamese Commercial Banks

LE, Trung Hai,NGUYEN, Ngan Bich,NGUYEN, Duong Thuy Korea Distribution Science Association 2022 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.9 No.6

This paper examines the effects of regulatory capital on a bank's profitability and risk. We employ annual data from Vietnamese commercial banks from 2005 to 2020 and use the dynamic GMM regression method to address the potential endogeneity issue, more suitable for panel data with relatively low time dimensions. Our panel regressions indicate that higher regulatory capital would significantly improve the bank's profitability and lower the bank risks. In particular, a one percent increase in the regulatory capital would significantly increase the bank's return on assets by 1.9%. We further explore the heterogeneous impacts of regulatory capital on the Vietnamese bank's performance across bank characteristics. We find that smaller, non-state-owned and non-listed banks would benefit from stringent regulatory capital requirements. The improvements in bank performance are mainly driven by reductions in the risk premium of the banks, resulting in lower funding costs and higher profitability. These findings are essential since Vietnam, as an emerging market, has only implemented the Basel II reform recently on a stable and fast-growing background rather than as a reaction to the global financial crisis. Thus, our empirical results support stringent regulatory capital in emerging countries to ensure a stable banking sector and boost economic growth.

Exploring Critical Risk Factors of Office Building Projects

NGUYEN, Phong Thanh,PHAM, Cuong Phu,PHAN, Phuong Thanh,VU, Ngoc Bich,DUONG, My Tien Ha,NGUYEN, Quyen Le Hoang Thuy To Korea Distribution Science Association 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.2

Risks and uncertainty are unavoidable problems in management of projects. Therefore, project managers should not only prevent risks, but also have to respond and manage them. Risk management has become a critical interest subject in the construction industry for both practitioners and researchers. This paper presents critical risk factors of office building projects in the construction phase in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey based on the likelihood and consequence level of risk factors. These factors fell into five groups: (i) financial risk factors; (ii) management risk factors; (iii) schedule risk factors; (iv) construction risk factors; and (v) environment risk factors. The research results showed that critical factors affecting office building projects are natural (i.e., prolonged rain, storms, climate effects) and human-made issues (i.e., soil instability, safety behaviors, owner's design change) and the schedule-related risk factors contributed to the most significant risks for office buildings projects in the construction phase in Ho Chi Minh City. They give construction management and project management practitioners a new perspective on risks and risk management of office buildings projects in Ho Chi Minh City and are proactive in the awareness, response, and management of risk factors comprehensively.

Critical Factors of Subcontractor Evaluation and Selection: A Case Study in Vietnam

VO, Khoa Dang,PHAM, Cuong Phu,PHAN, Phuong Thanh,VU, Ngoc Bich,DUONG, My Tien Ha,LE, Loan Phuc,NGUYEN, Quyen Le Hoang Thuy To Korea Distribution Science Association 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.3

A contractor or a main contractor is a company with full capacity to construct all project's works for the owner. A subcontractor is an organization that works with the main contractor to execute and complete work packages for the project. Selecting an effective subcontractor will help the efficiency and success of any projects in the construction industry. Therefore, this study identified subcontractor evaluation factors in Vietnam by collecting questionnaire survey data from engineers and staffs in the construction industry project environment. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then performed to identify the critical factors when evaluating and selecting the subcontractor in construction projects. Moreover, when considering the impact level in terms of the average value, the research results showed that the most critical concern was the subcontractor's reputation. Furthermore, the top five factors affecting the sub-contractor evaluation and selection are (i) reputation, (ii) price, (iii) construction techniques, (iv) ability to implement projects according to commitments, and (v) subcontractor competence (the team of workers, technician staff, engineers with full capacity according to regulations). These research results provide an overall perspective that will help main contractors develop suitable subcontractors' evaluation and selection factors in their projects in the construction industry.