Assessing feasibility of establishing antimicrobial stewardship programmes in two provincial-level hospitals in Vietnam: an implementation research study

In 2019, DASON hosted a group from Oxford University Research Unit in Ha Noi, Vietnam who were in the process of developing antimicrobial stewardship programs for their local hospitals. After spending some time here with us at Duke, Drs. Libby Dodds Ashley and Dev Anderson have continued to assist them in this process over the last few years. 

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of establishing hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes comprising action-planning, educational interventions and data feedback in two provincial-level hospitals in Viet Nam. This was an implementation research using participatory action process and existing resources from the Duke Antimicrobial Stewardship Outreach Network with local adjustments. A national stakeholder meeting and Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis were conducted to identify gaps and potential interventions.

Our data confirmed the need to contextualise AMS programmes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and demonstrated the usefulness of implementation research design in assessing programme feasibility. Developing staff competencies, using local data to stimulate actions and integrating programme activities in routine hospital work are key to success in LMICs.

This is an open access article. 

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