Integrated Behavioral Health Care at Healthcare centers in Vietnam

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The health care system in Vietnam has achieved many developments with the introduction of many evidence-based models, aiming at high-quality services to meet the demands of the new era and the needs of clients. However, the current system has not paid adequate attention to behavioral health issues which act as both a cause and a risk factor for non-communicable diseases in Vietnam.

Professor Ronnal O'Donnell from Arizona State University (ASU), has shared some interesting and useful information focusing on integrated behavioral health and experiences from research on this model conducted in some countries in the world. The lecture was taken place at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City on November 15, 2017.

Proffessor O’Donnell presenting at the workshop.

According to Prof. O'Donnell, currently obesity rates in Vietnam are on the rise (15% of obese men and women) (Pham Ho et al., 2015); Hypertension is common, but many people have not been diagnosed; The percentage of men who use tobacco and alcohol is high, and the proportion of women using tobacco is also rising (Hoy et al., 2013). In addition, people with "modern" diseases such as depression are no longer considered to be rare in Vietnamese society.

Prof. O’Donnell – Arizona State University (USA)

Question: How can we limit the risks and relieve the symptoms of these diseases?

If we consider to integrate "Behavioral Health Care" segmentation into the current facility, we will soon have the answer to the problem.

"Behavioral health care can be simply sumarized that we have behavioral health professionals to work in hospitals and community healthcare centers; These professionals will intervene primarily on behavioral factors that increase the risk of non-communicable disease (smoking, inactiveness, nutrition), and behavioral disorders (depression, anxiety, physical symptoms / stress) "- Prof. O'Donnell.

These behavioral health professionals will work closely with the staff of the clinic/hospital as well as the clinical physician to help the clients determine the risk factors in their behavior leading to or deepening the symptoms of the disease like obesity, depression, tobacco addiction, diabetes, and other chronic ailments. Here, they will use surveys, screening questions, and questionnaires to help patients find problematic behaviors and then provide counseling to help them change negative behaviors, keep in touch and facilitate the patient's compliance to treatment.

These tasks require the expert himself/herself to have a basic knowledge of medicine in general, and must have extensive knowledge of behavioral health and counseling skills when working with clients.

Particularly in the United States, where technology is widely influenced, behavioral health is well respected by most people, as demonstrated by the many users of mobile applications and smart devices. They know how to measure their health status, know when things go wrong and contact the doctors to have the appropriate intervention.

This will be a potential orientation for future, which will help to save the cost of medical treatment in general, while reducing the burden for clinic staff when the patient knows how to take care of themselves and understand their diseases.

Currently, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with Arizona State University to conduct a study in 4 Asian countries to assess the need to integrate Behavioral Health into the system at each countries. If possible, the 2 phase will come with the implementation of these models in these countries.