Developing urban health indicators for low income countries: Vietnam, a case study

Since 2008, more than half of the world’s population now live an urban area. The consequences of this are strains on existing resources such as access to healthcare, housing and infrastructure. Therefore, access to data at the urban level is important for those involved in policy making in order to assess and address these issues. This is especially important for developing countries where resources are already limited without the added strain of rapid urbanisation.This PhD study is nested within the EURO-URHIS 2 project, a DG Research, FP7 Programme project which is collecting data on a series of indicators deemed to be important to urban health. It investigates whether the EURO-URHIS 2 data collection tools designed for use in Europe can be replicated in Vietnam. Cultural, political, economical and social differences create specific obstacles as well as challenges. This poster reviews some of the methodological constraints in adapting the EURO-URHIS 2 study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A preliminary fieldwork trip was carried out in Vietnam to test the feasibility of the EURO-URHIS 2 data collection tools. These data collection tools include: an existing data survey; a health survey for adults; and a health survey for 15 year old students. Semi-structured interviews were used to record responses and feedback from participants. It was found that some data could be collected using the existing data survey. Most data available did not meet the EURO-URHIS 2 definitions. Responses from the semi-structured interviews found that the youth survey could be easily replicated in Vietnam. However, it was found that the adult data collection tool methodology could not be replicated in Vietnam. A lack of basic infrastructure and population registers led to significant changes being made to the sampling and survey administration. This was consistent with the reviewed literature of conducting research in developing countries.It was recommended that the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was used as the replacement method for the adult data collection tool. Despite the limitations in using the EPI method, the overall strengths and benefits were found to address methodological issues.