https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-6230
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ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to report the prevalence of financial hardship and identify associated factors among ethnic minority populations in Vietnam. In 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 5,033 ethnic minority participants from 12 provinces located in four socioeconomic regions in Vietnam. Financial hardship was measured by asking the study respondents if they had to borrow money, sell household assets, or stop using health care services due to health care service fees. Among the health service users, 24.0% (95% CI: 22.3–25.8%) faced a health-related financial hardship. Participants with secondary education were more likely to experience financial hardship than illiterate participants. In contrast, those who were able to speak the Vietnamese language, had a religious affiliation, or had health insurance were likely to have lower financial hardship. Continuing to expand health insurance coverage and develop essential packages covered by health insurance is vital to reducing financial hardship.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the supports from the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs of Vietnam. We thank Michelle M. Ogrodnick from Georgia State University, USA and Dr. Ian Grant from Cambridge Proofreading LLC for editing the language contents of this paper.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data Availability
Available upon request to the corresponding author.
Notes
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Additional information
Notes on contributors
Van Minh Hoang
Prof. Van Minh Hoang is currently Vice-rector for research of the Hanoi University of Public Healt h. Director, Center for Population Health Sciences, Hanoi University of Public Health, Viet Nam. He is also the Editor-in-chief, Journal of Health and Development Studies. Prof. Minh specializes in health research methods and health system. He has been leading a number of international and national health researches on various issues of health and health care in Vietnam, including several NHI, MRC funded projects. He has more than 200 scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals.
Quynh Long Khuong
Quynh Long Khuong is a medical doctor. He is a researcher working at Hanoi University of Public Health Vietnam. His work is to improve the health status for vulnerable populations, including substance abusers, people living with HIV, women, children and ethnic minority group.
Thanh Ha Nguyen
Thanh Ha Nguyen is a lecturer of Nutrition Dept., Faculty of Environmental and Occupational Health, Hanoi University of Public Health. She is currently teaching and researching in community nutrition, dietetic and related public health area as well. Her publication focus on nutrition and non-communicable diseases related to nutrition.
Thi Thuy Duong Doan
Thi Thuy Duong Doan is a public health specialist with substantial experience in reproductive health, ethnic minority, gender issue, and health systems management. Ms. Doan has been working at the Hanoi University of Public Health as a public health researcher and lecturer on qualitative research methods. Recently, she has participated in several research projects on ethnic minority groups.
Trung Tran
Associate Prof. Trung Tran is the Director of the Vietnam Academy for Ethnic Minorities and is the leader of the Vietnamese Science Editors (VSE) Team. His areas of interest include ethnic education, education management, public policy and teaching methods.
Thi Huong Hoang
Thi Huong Hoang is a lecturer University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Her research interests are in the area of Natural resource and environment management; State management of economics; Agriculture, rural areas and farmers; Community development and Human Resource Management. Implementing Agricultural Land Use Solutions to Adapt Climate Change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.
Van Huan Nguyen
Van Huan Nguyen is a senior researcher at Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam. He has experience in the field of ethnic minority and health systems management. Recently, he has participated in several research projects on ethnic minority groups.
Thi Tuyet Hanh Tran
Associate Prof. Thi Tuyet Hanh Tran holds a Ph.D. in Environment Health at the Queensland University of Technology and a master of Public Health degree at the University of Queensland. She has been a lecturer at Hanoi University of Public Health since 2002 and promoted to be the head of the Department of Science and Technology since 2019. In addition to teaching post-graduate and undergraduate students, Dr. Hanh has been implementing a number of Environmental Health and Public Health research projects in Vietnam and in the Southeast Asia Region. She has published over 45 papers in qualified ISI-covered journals, with h-index on Google Scholar = 13.
Thi Hoang Lan Vu
Associate Prof. Thi Hoang Lan Vu is Chair of Faculty of Fundamental Science and Head of Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam. She has been implementing a number of Public Health research projects in Vietnam. She has more than 50 scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals.
Mai Huong Nguyen
Mai Huong Nguyen is a lecturer at the Training center of General Office of Population and Family Planning, Vietnam. She has participated in a technical group to develop The Elderly Project for the period 2017-2025 promulgated by Ministry of Health. She has written several articles on population & family planning and is the author of Healthcare social work book (2013). Currently, she is working on project to improve the health status and healthcare access among ethnic minorities.
Thi Kim Oanh Luu
Thi Kim Oanh Luu is a lecturer at Hanoi University of Public Health, Vietnam. Her research interests are in the field of women, and ethnic minority population.
Thi Thu Trang Nguyen
Thi Thu Trang Nguyen is a lecturer at Hanoi University of Public Health, Vietnam. She does research in Qualitative Social Research that focus on vulnerable groups, including ethnic minority population.
Huu Quang Cao
Huu Quang Cao is a researcher at Hanoi University of Public Health, Vietnam. His research interests are in the domain of Qualitative Social Research. He has participated in several research projects on ethnic minority groups.
Thi Thu Ha Bui
Prof. Thi Thu Ha Bui is currently Dean of the Hanoi University of Public Health. She does research in Qualitative Social Research, Social Theory and Quantitative Social Research. Their most recent publication is ‘Assessment of health professional education across five Asian countries—a protocol’.