Nha Trang City Research Articles

Sex Workers in Vietnam: How Many, How Risky?

Because of concerns for HIV risks and need to plan effective programs, we assessed the number and risks of sex workers in Nha Trang City, Vietnam. Sex workers were contacted in streets, beaches, bars, and restaurants, and a capture-recapture method was used to estimate their number. An estimated 444 women worked on the streets and beach ("direct" sex workers) and 486 worked in bars and restaurants or other facilities ("indirect" sex workers). Direct and indirect sex workers engaged in sex work primarily to support their families. Direct sex workers were older and were more at risk for HIV risk than were indirect sex workers. Direct sex workers had more clients, were less likely to report always using condoms (67% vs. 81%), more likely to report a prior sexually transmitted infection (19% vs. 16%), and more likely to have clients who inject drugs (16% vs. 13%). This assessment has implications for planning programs to reduce sex work and its risks in Vietnam and potentially other countries.

Acceptability and accessibility of a Shigellosis vaccine in Nha Trang city of Viet Nam.

The acceptability and accessibility of a hypothetical Shigella vaccination campaign was explored. A household survey was conducted with 539 randomly-selected residents of six communes in Nha Trang city of Viet Nam. Four categories of acceptability, such as refusers, low acceptors, acceptors, and high acceptors, were established, Refusers were significantly more likely to be elderly women and were less likely to know the purpose of vaccinations. Low acceptors tended to be male, elderly, and live in urban areas. Low acceptors perceived the disease as less serious and themselves as less vulnerable than acceptors and high acceptors. In terms of accessing vaccination, the commune health centre workers and commune leaders were the preferred sources of information and commune health centres the preferred location for vaccination. Direct verbal information from healthcare providers and audio-visual media were preferred to written information. The respondents expressed a desire for knowledge about the side-effects and efficacy of the vaccine. These findings are significant for targeting specific messages about shigellosis and vaccination to different populations and maximizing informed participation in public-health campaigns.

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment Along the Southeastern Coast of Vietnam

On the basis of the analysis of geological, tectonic characteristics and earthquake manifestation features, a causative relation between geodynamic regime and seismicity has been established for the southeastern coastal zone and continental shelf of Vietnam. The probabilistic methods have been used to evaluate ground shaking effects at Nha Trang city aswell as for the entire study area. Short, intermediate and long term predictions of ground shaking (in the form of peak ground accelerationmaps) show high risks in the coastal zone of central Vietnam and in the southeastern continental shelf of the country.