Stakeholder engagement to develop a directory of COVID-19 related mental health services in Vietnam: reflections on a participatory approach

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise of mental health issues amongst Vietnamese communities in Vietnam and the diaspora. However, there were few resources and no directory of services available for people seeking mental health support in Vietnam. In response to this need, we initiated an engagement project to improve Vietnamese communities' access to mental health support. This project aimed to involve stakeholders in the development of a directory of resources in order to ensure that it met local needs. The phases of development included: (1) reviewing desk research findings; (2) reviewing the list of mental health support services that we could find; (3) verifying the first draft of the directory; (4) helping disseminate the directory; and (5) updating the directory. In February 2022 the first edition of the mental health directory for Vietnamese and foreigners living in Vietnam was published. In this paper we describe the iterative approach taken to developing a resource that would have maximum utility for the target communities. We describe the process of partnering with people with lived experience, community members and expert stakeholders in this process, and reflect on how this strengthened the outcomes in terms of the relevance of the output, the research uptake and the access for the wider community. We believe that it is important to publish examples of community engagement projects in order to demonstrate good practise and promote increased involvement of communities in research.