Premium
A global partnership to improve nutrition medicine in Vietnam
Author(s) -
Lenders Carine M,
Henry Elizabeth
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.1028.16
Subject(s) - vietnamese , overnutrition , general partnership , malnutrition , government (linguistics) , context (archaeology) , medicine , family medicine , nursing , medical education , political science , geography , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology , pathology , law
Background Although the nutrition status in Vietnam has improved dramatically this past decade, malnutrition is still prevalent and studies in the hospital setting are lacking. The Vietnamese government recently urged hospitals to start addressing nutrition. Objective To create a partnership between Boston University (BU), Bach Mai Hospital (BMH), the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), and the Hanoi Medical University (HMU) to improve patient outcomes and health services in Vietnam. Intervention After an in‐depth assessment, the AFINS partners have developed a hospital‐centered integrative model of nutrition medicine. Results We found that the rate of acute undernutrition in a general hospital ranges between 30–45% based on age while overnutrition is rare. With support from AFINS partners, the academic and hospital leadership is creating new training opportunities and systems applicable to the Vietnamese context. Conclusions Using government guidelines and feedback, AFINS partners plan to develop strategies to further evaluate, sustain, and disseminate this model. Support from the Abbott Fund.