Vietnam
- Prevention of Blindness due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
- Early detection and prevention of eye diseases
- The cause and incidence of intussusception in Vietnam
Improving Human Resource Capacity - Education and Training Program
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Pediatrics, Hanoi; Nossal Institute for Global Health |
| Project dates | January 2008 - December 2010 |
| Funding agency | Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | AUD5.3m |
| Team |
Project Director - Professor Garry Warne, Senior Program Officer - Annie Major |
Project Description
RCHI has received a major grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies for this important new project. The program, which will run for three years from 2008-2010, will have 3 components.
1. Building workforce capacity to teach and learn
a. Building project management capacity
b. Training the trainers
c. Learning resource centre, including telemedicine capability
d. Intensive English language learning
2. Building capacity in leadership and support services.
a. Directorate leadership and management development
b. Management short courses
c. Human resources management plan and health services planning capacity
d. Fundraising capacity
3. Building capacity in clinical services
a. Professional development of doctors
b. Professional development of nurses
c. Cross department theme development in priority areas (Oncology and Neurosciences)
d. Patient advocacy and community development
An overall aim is that at the end of three years, NHP will have the independent capacity to bid for, receive and manage external grants from international donors. Project management for the program will be provided by the Nossal Institute of Global Health, which is part of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne. International project management trainers and other technical advisers will be based at NHP in the first 12 months of the project.
Hue Cardiovascular Training Project
| Project location | Hue |
| Partner agencies |
Hue Central Hospital |
| Project dates | November 2005 - November 2010 |
| Funding agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | AUD3m |
| Team |
Project Director - Professor Garry Warne, Project Manager - Mai Eames, International Clinical and Training Systems Advisor - Professor Dan Penny |
Project Description
A new 6-storey Cardiovascular Centre donated by Atlantic Philanthropies was officially opened at Hue Central Hospital on March 13, 2007. RCHI is a managing a 5-year project to provide training for 111 staff from a range of medical, surgical, nursing and management disciplines. Clinical training is being provided at the Heart Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, adult hospitals in Melbourne and at Hue Central Hospital itself. Management training will be provided at the Heart Institute, HCM City and the Pontchaillou Hospital in Rennes, France.
Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) Training Program
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | 2005-7 |
| Funding agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | AUD450K |
| Team |
Team Leader - Dr Simon Young |
Project Description
A 3-day course for health professionals on the management of acute paediatric illnesses and injuries. Our aim is to establish the course nation-wide and make it self-sustaining using a train-the- trainer approach. In 2005, 189 candidates received basic training and over 60 were trained as instructors. An independent evaluation of the program commissioned from the Vietnamese NGO, RTCCD, was given an excellent rating by the Scientific Committee of the General Medical Association and will be presented to the Ministry of Health.
Paediatric Nursing Course
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | 2005 - 2007 |
| Funding agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | AUD400K |
| Team |
Team Leader - Paul Longridge RN |
Project Description
A post-basic train-the-trainer program taught in Vietnamese at the National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi. The curriculum and course materials were developed collaboratively by RCH and NHP nurse educators. Training for Vietnamese and Lao nurses was held over two years and the course is highly rated by the Ministry of Health. Graduates from each course receive a certificate from the
Paediatric Infection Control Course
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | 2005 -7 |
| Funding agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | AUD70K |
| Team |
Team Leader - Dr Andrew Daley |
Project Description
This 2-year train-the-trainer project focuses on infection prevention and control in Vietnamese hospitals, with special emphasis on paediatric aspects.
e-Education Using the Internet
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics, Australian Research and Education Internet, CSIRO |
| Project dates | 2006 - 2007 |
| Funding agency | N/A |
| Grant value | Unfunded |
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and RCH Melbourne collaborated in July/August 2007 on a clinical trial, conducted at RCH, of a novel and advanced tele-health technology designed to support a "virtual clinic" between two remote centres.
RCHI collaborated with the Australian Research and Education Internet (AARNet) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) to exploit the full potential for telemedicine of the new high speed broadband internet connections between East Asian countries and the rest of the world. This began with a demonstration of a live post-operative surgical consultation between surgeons at RCH and NHP, Hanoi which was used in the launch of the Trans-Eurasia Internet Phase 2 (TEIN2) in Vietnam in June 2006. A mini-conference between RCH and NHP about Bone Marrow Transplantation took place in July.
RCHI is facilitating the trial of another e-medicine package called iPath, being developed in Sydney by Dov Hirsch, James Postle and Fred Hersh. The package was tested using the link between RCH Melbourne and NHP Hanoi. RCHI sees the internet as a very important mode of education and communication with developing countries. It allows frequent contact between health professionals and reduces the need for international travel.
Reducing Newborn Mortality in Vietnam
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | 2004 - 2007 |
| Funding agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Grant value | $70K |
| Team |
Team Leader - Dr Peter Loughnan |
Project Description
Vietnam has a population of almost 80 million people. In 1997 the under-5 mortality rate in Vietnam was estimated at 44 per thousand live births (for the period 1989-1994) and 37-38 per thousand live births in 1999-2000. Most of these deaths (30 per thousand) occur in the first year of life. NHP invited RCHI to help in the creation of a short course (comparable to APLS) to train health workers in the resuscitation of the newborn. It was a perinatal train the trainer project and training was provided throughout Vietnam. To develop this ambitious program, RCHI invited participation from the University of Sydney's Hoc Mai Institute (Professor Heather Jefferey, Professor Elizabeth Elliott, Professor Jonathan Morris and Professor Bruce Robinson) and the Australian International Health Institute (Dr Kris Hort). In Vietnam Dr Dinh Phuong Hoa (MOH) coordinated the involvement of five major central hospitals, as well as three Province and three District hospitals.
Improving the outcome for children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics, Hanoi; CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours) |
| Project dates | Ongoing |
| Funding agency | N/A |
| Grant value | Unfunded |
| Team |
Team Leader - Professor Garry Warne |
Project Description
CAH, the commonest adrenal disorder of childhood, is a genetic condition that affects 1:14,000 newborn infants. Infants are born with a severe imbalance of adrenal steroid hormones that can cause fatal salt losing crises and ambiguous genitalia in females. Life long treatment with hydrocortisone and Florinef allows normal living and surgery can correct genital anomalies. In Vietnam, medications are not always available or affordable and surgery is of variable quality. RCHI is collaborating with CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours ), the Endocrinology Departments at NHP in Hanoi and Children's Hospital No.1 in HCM City and Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals to provide supplies of medications, to support health workers and parents through better communications and education and to help develop better diagnostic services. Excellent progress is being made. Florinef was registered in Vietnam in February 2007 and hydrocortisone is now partially registered. CLAN is exploring the feasibility of micro-credit as a way of supporting poor families unable to afford essential drugs.
Prevention of blindness due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | 2000 - 2007 |
| Funding agency | Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd |
| Grant value | AUD10K |
| Team |
Project Leader - Dr Susan Carden |
Project Description
ROP is a common and preventable cause of blindness in premature newborn infants, with a rising incidence in Vietnam as the survival of small pre-term infants improves. If diagnosed early, it can be treated using laser therapy. The project involved training Vietnamese eye specialists in the diagnosis of ROP, educating paediatricians about the condition, and establishing a screening program for patients admitted to the Neonatal Unit at the National Hospital of Pediatrics. The Department of Neonatology at RCH was closely involved. Preliminary results are highly encouraging. Dr Susan Carden based her PhD thesis on this project. Successful fundraising by Vietnamese community groups in Melbourne paid for a laser machine for Children's Hospital No. 1 in HCMC that was delivered in August 2007.
Early detection and prevention of eye diseases
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | May 2004 |
| Funding agency | Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd |
| Grant value | AUD10K |
| Team |
Project Leader - Dr Susan Carden |
Project Description
In May 2004, RCHI purchased a slit lamp for the Eye Clinic at the National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi. RCH Ophthalmologist Susan Carden travelled to Vietnam to train local staff in the early recognition of diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and the assessment of eye injuries. Early diagnosis and prompt appropriate treatment are the keys to the prevention of blindness from these causes.
The Cause and Incidence of Intussusception in Vietnam
| Project location | Hanoi |
| Partner agencies |
National Hospital of Paediatrics |
| Project dates | May 2004 |
| Funding agency | WHO and RCH International |
| Grant value | AUD40K |
| Team |
Team Leader - Professor Julie Bines in collaboration with Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem (Director, NHP) |
Project Description
Vietnam has an incidence of intussusception (a common cause of intestinal obstruction in children) many times higher than that in western countries. This was documented as part of a research project in North Vietnam and viral studies were performed on faeces to look for an infective cause. See publications.