Factors Influencing Compliance in the Treatment of Elderly Hypertensive Vietnamese Clients

Little is known about health care beliefs and practices among Vietnamese elderly persons living in the United States. In general, studies of patient compliance with medical advice consistently demonstrate a high level of noncompliance. Not following recommendations can have serious negative consequences in the management of disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate compliance among a group of elderly Vietnamese clients with the plan given to them by their physicians for control of hypertension. Because the literature reports a high correlation between income and level of education with compliance in other groups, these factors were also studied as they related to this Vietnamese group. Thirty participants were surveyed with a Self-Reporting Adherence Scale (SRAS) questionnaire, to determine their compliance. A descriptive correlational study was done to determine the relationship between income and education regarding compliance to a plan to control hypertension in Vietnamese clients 65 years and older. The participants were selected from a convenience sample of senior Vietnamese men and women. The mean for compliance on the SRAS questionnaire showed a high level of compliance reflected as most of the time or four out of five with five being high on the Likert scale. There was also a positive statistical relationship found between both income and educational level with compliance using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. Suggestions were recommended for future research

Endogenous Fiscal Policies, Environmental Quality, and Status-Seeking Behavior.

This paper analyzes endogenous fiscal policy and public decision in an endogenous growth model where agents care about social status and environmental quality. The quest for a higher status is assimilated to a preference for capital wealth. The government uses income tax to finance infrastructure and environmental protection, and maximizes individual welfare. We find that accounting for preferences for social status and environmental quality may lead to an allocation of tax revenue in favor of cleanup effort to the detriment of infrastructure. It does not necessary have a negative impact on growth. Status seeking can however harm economic growth and environmental quality when its motive is important enough. Finally, we show that economic growth is consistent with environmental preservation but is not necessarily welfare-improving as in the case of absence of status-seeking behavior.Endogenous policy; endogenous growth; environmental quality; status-seeking; public expenditure; Wagner's law.

Income distribution dynamics across European regions

We use two datasets to study the convergence process across European regions. Relying on Quah (1966a,1997), we examine the dynamics of income distribution and find evidence of polarization whatever the time horizon considered. Regions whose incomes were close together at an initial period transit subsequently to widely different income levels.distribution dynamics

Application of Grey System Theory in Construction Management

Materials are an important input in building construction. They account for a substantial proportion of investment capital and construction volume. However, as material prices are often affected by the market, choosing the right construction supplier is not an easy decision for contractors, especially for those materials required during the finishing phase of construction. As one of these finishing materials is paint, identifying core criteria for evaluating and selecting the best construction paint supplier is a crucial economic choice for construction contractors. Assessing the importance of these criteria is a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem. To reflect the risks and uncertainties in this problem, this paper presents a grey system theory approach to prioritize important criteria for selecting paint material suppliers in construction projects

Public services, environmental quality and subjective well-being in a European city: the case of Strasbourg metropolitan area

Purpose – This paper analyzes individual subjective well-being using a survey database from the Strasbourg metropolitan development council (France). The authors focus on the effects of externalities generated by public services (transport, culture and sport), environmental quality and feeling of security in the Strasbourg metropolitan area (Eurométropole de Strasbourg, EMS). Results show that EMS specificities (public facilities, environmental quality, safety and security) and individual features like opportunities to laugh or live with children significantly influence individual well-being. These findings are robust when using three subjective measures: feeling of well-being, environmental satisfaction and social life satisfaction. The authors also show that income may affect the perceived well-being of individuals belonging to a low-income group, while individuals belonging to a high-income group tend to be unsatisfied with environmental quality but satisfied with their social life. Besides, social comparison in terms of income does not matter for individual well-being in the Strasbourg metropolitan area. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical and empirical paper —Utility theory in economics—Econometric modeling using an ordered probit model. Findings – Specificities of the Strasbourg metropolitan area-France (public services related to transport, culture and sport, environmental quality perceived as convenient for individual health, sense of security) significantly impact individual subjective well-being. Income does not substantially impact the individual subjective perception of happiness: income may matter for the feeling of well-being only for individuals belonging to a low-income group. Wealthy individuals tend to be unsatisfied with environmental quality but satisfied with their social life. Social comparison in terms of income does not matter for individual well-being in the Strasbourg metropolitan area. Research limitations/implications – Cross-sectional data, but it is the only available database from a survey conducted by EMS in 2017 to collect information on potential elements relative to individual well-being in the Strasbourg metropolitan area. Practical implications – Results shed light on the role of territorial policies in improving individual well-being and might provide some guidelines for policy-makers concerned about the population’s welfare. Policy-makers should give strong attention to public facilities (an essential element of local public action) and improve environmental quality. If they care about the population’s happiness, they have to reorient current policies in this direction. Of course, through the inquiry in 2017 giving this database, the Strasbourg agglomeration development council aimed to provide such evidence to the local administration. Nevertheless, the results were a bit upsetting for many people in the administrative and political circles, who generally prioritize economic and demographic development, while the citizens’ responses to the inquiry have revealed a strong focus on the quality of everyday life in their neighborhood. Originality/value – The present study contributes to the literature on subjective well-being, with a focus on the role of local characteristics and living environment. The authors’ starting point is related to the standard utility theory, indicating that environmental quality and public services are positive externalities. The authors investigate whether the local living environment and public facilities are crucial elements explaining individual well-being. To do this, we consider three subjective measures: feeling of well-being, environmental satisfaction and social life satisfaction, which are used as proxies of individual utility. The authors consider different explicative variables representing specificities of EMS in terms of public services (transport, culture and sport), environmental quality perceived as convenient for individual health, safety and security, etc. The authors also provide a test for relative standing by including the median monthly household income at the municipality level

"Cultural additivity" and how the values and norms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism co-exist, interact, and influence Vietnamese society: A Bayesian analysis of long-standing folktales, using R and Stan

Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned about 50,000 tons of joss papers, which took the form of not only bank notes, but iPhones, cars, clothes, even housekeepers, in hope of pleasing the dead. The practice was mistakenly attributed to traditional Buddhist teachings but originated in fact from China, which most Vietnamese were not aware of. In other aspects of life, there were many similar examples of Vietnamese so ready and comfortable with adding new norms, values, and beliefs, even contradictory ones, to their culture. This phenomenon, dubbed "cultural additivity", prompted us to study the co-existence, interaction, and influences among core values and norms of the Three Teachings--Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism--as shown through Vietnamese folktales. By applying Bayesian logistic regression, we evaluated the possibility of whether the key message of a story was dominated by a religion (dependent variables), as affected by the appearance of values and anti-values pertaining to the Three Teachings in the story (independent variables).Comment: 8 figures, 35 page

Magnitude and patterns of severe Plasmodium vivax monoinfection in Vietnam: a 4-year single-center retrospective study

IntroductionInfection with Plasmodium vivax is a recognized cause of severe malaria including deaths. The exact burden and patterns of severe P. vivax monoinfections is however still not well quantified, especially in P. vivax endemic regions. We examined the magnitude and patterns of severe malaria caused by monoinfections of P. vivax and associated predictors among patients admitted to a tertiary care center for malaria in Vietnam.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted based on the patients’ medical records at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases from January 2015 to December 2018. Extracted information included demographic, epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory and treatment characteristics.ResultsMonoinfections with P. vivax were found in 153 (34.5, 95% CI 30.3–39.1%) patients of whom, uncomplicated and severe malaria were documented in 89.5% (137/153, 95% CI 83.7–93.5%) and 10.5% (16/153, 95% CI 6.5–16.3%), respectively. Patterns of severe malaria included jaundice (8 cases), hypoglycemia (3 cases), shock (2 cases), anemia (2 cases), and cerebral malaria (1 case). Among 153 patients, 73 (47.7%) had classic malaria paroxysm, 57 (37.3%) had >7 days of illness at the time of admission, and 40 (26.1%) were referred from other hospitals. A misdiagnosis as having other diseases from malaria cases coming from other hospitals was up to 32.5% (13/40). Being admitted to hospital after day 7th of illness (AOR = 6.33, 95% CI 1.14–35.30, p = 0.035) was a predictor of severe malaria. Severe malaria was statistically associated with longer hospital length of stay (p = 0.035). Early and late treatment failures and recrudescence were not recorded. All patients recovered completely.DiscussionThis study confirms the emergence of severe vivax malaria in Vietnam which is associated with delayed hospital admission and increased hospital length of stay. Clinical manifestations of P. vivax infection can be misdiagnosed which results in delayed treatment. To meet the goal of malaria elimination by 2030, it is crucial that the non-tertiary hospitals have the capacity to quickly and correctly diagnose malaria and then provide treatment for malaria including P. vivax infections. More robust studies need to be conducted to fully elucidate the magnitude of severe P. vivax in Vietnam

Factors Influencing Cost Overruns in Construction Projects of International Contractors in Vietnam

A construction project is a designed product made up of labors, materials, and installations in the project positioned on the ground and may include the underground and ground section, and the section in water or on the water surface. It is a civil, industrial, transport, agricultural and rural development, infrastructure, or some other. A key phase in the life cycle of these construction projects is the implementation when building products are made directly with workers, equipment, materials, and managers. If there is a lack of management experience, information, and problem-solving solutions to tackle the risks faced by contractors, especially foreign ones, will fail in controlling the project’s cost. This study was conducted with investigations, discussions, and evaluation of the factors that lead to cost overruns in the construction projects of international contractors in Vietnam. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that those factors that influence cost overruns these construction projects fall into five general groups, including factors related to (i) the owners, (ii) the foreign contractors, (iii) the subcontractors and suppliers, (iv) state management, and (v) the project itself. Besides, the study proposes solutions to limit cost overruns in construction projects and improve the profitability of international contractors in Vietnam

Exploring Critical Risk Factors of Office Building Projects

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