Health Status and Health Service Utilization among Vietnamese Farmers in a Mountainous Province

Diep Ngoc Nguyen, Long Hoang Nguyen, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Hai Quang Pham, Jongnam Hwang, Giang Thu Vu, Bach Xuan Tran, Carl A. Latkin, Cyrus S. H. Ho and Roger C. M. Ho
Additional contact information
Diep Ngoc Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Long Hoang Nguyen: Center of Excellence in Behavioral Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Cuong Tat Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Hai Quang Pham: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Jongnam Hwang: Division of Social Welfare and Health Administration, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538, Korea
Giang Thu Vu: Center of Excellence in Evidence-based Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Bach Xuan Tran: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Carl A. Latkin: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Cyrus S. H. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119074, Singapore
Roger C. M. Ho: Center of Excellence in Behavioral Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: Problems of poor health status and low health service use among farmers in mountainous areas have not been fully investigated. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Son La, a mountainous province in Vietnam, to assess the self-rated health and health care service utilization among farmers. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the self-rated health. Multivariate Tobit, Poisson, and logistic regression were employed to identify related factors. Among 197 farmers, the mean VAS score was 67.8 (SD = 15.5). Approximately 40% of participants reported health problems, and the most popular morbidity was hypertension—56.4%. There were 28.9% and 50.3% of farmers using inpatient and outpatient treatments in the last 12 months, respectively. Age, educational level, family income, marital status, alcohol use, and source of information have been identified as associated factors with self-rated health status and morbidities, while age, gender, education, and morbidities were related to health service utilization. Data indicated a high proportion of health issues and a high rate of health care service use among farmers in a mountainous area of Vietnam. Adaptable health policies and prevention programs or preventive health services should be implemented regularly in mountainous regions to protect farmers from the onset of morbidities and to enhance their health.

Keywords: Vietnam; farmer; mountainous; health status; quality of life; utilization; self-rated health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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