Implementation Workshop on “Evidence for Better Lives” – EBLS

In the framework of the project EBLS - Evidence for Better Lives, on January 11, 2019, the Institute for Community Health Research (ICHR) - University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Hue University – had organized the implementation workshop on“Evidence for Better Lives”. The objective of the workshop was to introduce the research project and discuss the plan to implement this research in eight wards located in Hue city.

Photo 1: ICHR organized the workshop “The Research Of Providing Evidence For The Future Generations’s Development”

Presentingat the workshop were A/Prof. Vo Van Thang (Director of ICHR, Research team leader of EBLS study in Hue city); Prof. Michael Dunne (Queensland University of Technology - Co-Director of ICHR - Co-Investigator of the EBLS project); Dr. Luong Thanh Bao Yen (Researcher of ICHR, coordinator of EBLS project in Hue city); A/Prof. Nguyen Hoang Lan (Researcher of ICHR, fieldwork coordinator of EBLS project in Hue city) and the Representative of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Thua Thien Hue province; Representatives of the People’s Committee and health centers of Tay Loc ward, Phu Binh ward, Phuoc Vinh ward, Thuy Bieu ward, Huong Long ward, Phu Hoi ward, Phu Hiep ward and An Tay ward; and all other staffs of the ICHR and members of the EBLS research team in Hue.

Photo 2: A/Prof. Vo Van Thang - Director of ICHR – Co-Investigator of the EBLS project - Research team leader of EBLS study in Hue city – delivering the opening remarked at the workshop.

The workshop emphasized the context and reasons for conducting the research as well as developed the plan for implementing the study in Hue city as well as introduced the methods for data collection to the workshop attendance. The workshop had pointed out the situation of the exposure to violence in early childhood, since the child was being in the womb; according to international estimates, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a common form of antenatal violence (Martinez-Torteya, Bogat, Levendosky & Von Eye, 2016): there was aprx. 13.8% of women exposed with physical violence during pregnancy; 8% had been sexually abused and 28.4% suffered from emotional violence (Devries et al, 2011; James, Brody & Hamilton, 2013). The psychological disorders after trauma as a result of exposure to violence could have an adverse effect on the immune system, the metabolism and structure of the fetal brain. In particular, violence and stress occured later in pregnancy are related to an increasing risk of some disadvantageous impact in children, such as intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders, depression and other behavioral disorders. In Vietnam, a systematic review from 4,598 pregnant women showed that there was 5.9 to 32.5% women experienced violence during pregnancy – in which, the proportion of physical violence, emotion violence, sexual violence were from 3% to 8%; 6% to 32.5%  and 3.4% to 10%, respectively (Do Phuc Huyen et al, 2018).

Photo 3: Prof. Michael Dunne - Queensland University of Technology, Co-Director of ICHR, Co-Investigator of the EBLS project - shared about the importance of EBLS project at the workshop 

After discussion, the participants agree to start the data collection from the date of February 20, 2019, at eight wards in Hue city. Study population are women aged 18 and older, living in the locality at least 6 months, pregnant in the third trimester of pregnancy (from 29 to 40 weeks) and agreed to participate in the study, the women will be selected randomly from the maternity list of each ward health centers. Data will be collected via direct interviews based on questionnaire which were set up in tablets; hair and dried blood samples will be gathered from the women to find out about their health status, as well as the exposure to stress factors - which can affect the health of the fetus - by measuring hair’s cortisol levels. The collecting of biological samples will be carried out by technicians at health facilities to ensure the safety for study participants. The standards of research ethics have also been approved by Ethics Committee of Biomedical Research from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy – Hue University. The women will be interviewed and collected biological samples only when they agree and commit by signature in the consent form, as well as having the right to stop interview at any time if they want.

Photo 4: A/Prof. Nguyen Hoang Lan - fieldwork coordinator of EBLS research in Hue city - introduced the research plan and the process of data collectting including tablet interviews and biological sampling.

Photo 5: The workshop participants discussed at workshop 

Results of the study will shed light on the challenges that need to be resolved before the main study of EBLS begins in 2020. Moreover, the project also pledges to bring benefits to the community as providing background data on main risk factors, which affect the healthy development of children. Since then a prevention policies is evolved to make a great effort for the group of disadvantage children to achieve their full developmental and learning potential. The research also creates the chance to detect and support for the cases of abuse, violence or suspicion of abuse, violence against women and children; as well as provide high-quality evidence to support effective interventions for reducing violence in general.

For more details of this project, please visit the links below:

•  http://iccchr-hue.org.vn/vn/news/the-launch-of-the-evidence-for-better-lives-study?key=364

•  https://www.vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/EBLS

January, 2019

ICHR