Engaging village health workers in non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control in Vietnam : a qualitative study

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continues to grow in Vietnam, and reducing the burden of NCDs is a national priority. This study explored perspective of community health workers (CHWs), known as Village Health Workers (VHWs) in Vietnam, and public health leaders towards potential of expanding VHWs’ role to deliver NCDs prevention and control services, and determined barriers and facilitators. We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) with VHWs (n = 24) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) with public health administrators (n = 13). The findings show that VHWs in Vietnam deliver multiple public health services, including several NCDs related services. Perceived barriers include lack of policy support, shortages of trained health personnel, lack of training, imbalanced workload and inadequate remuneration. Perceived barriers include lack of policy support, shortages of trained health personnel, lack of training, imbalanced workload and inadequate remuneration. Facilitators include government commitment to NCDs prevention and control, priority on capacity building, professional recognition and provision of incentives with availability of appropriate resources. While additional quantitative studies are needed to supplement the current qualitative findings, the current results inform the policy and intervention development in engaging VHWs in the delivery of community-based NCDs prevention and control initiatives in Vietnam.