The Vietnamese Journal of Preventive Medicine has published a special edition on risk assessment for health research in Vietnam. The June 2013 special edition is a compilation of over 10 original research papers on the application of risk analysis to the management of animal, human and environmental health in Vietnam. The subject of training and capacity development in health risk assessment in Vietnam is also featured.
Risk analysis is a scientific, risk-based approach to assessing the health effects and economic impacts of various hazards (for example, disease-causing microorganisms in food or chemical pollutants in water) in order to develop appropriate interventions to mitigate the health risks posed by the hazards, thus ensuring that people, animals and the environment are safe.
Risk analysis comprises three components: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. In the developed world, risk assessment is widely applied and used as a tool for risk management, thanks to the availability and accessibility of large databases of diseases.
However, many developing countries – including Vietnam – do not have the research data and risk analysis expertise needed to be able to adequately inform policymaking on risk-based approaches to health management.
The research papers featured in the special issue provide insights into the current status of research on risk analysis in Vietnam, specifically, risk assessment of the health impacts of Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes in the pork value chain in Hanoi, arsenic contamination in drinking water in Hanam Province, dioxin contamination in food in Da Nang and pesticide residues in farms in Thai Binh.
The work is a result of the collaborative efforts of the Vietnamese Journal of Preventive Medicine and the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) at the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH).
Among the co-authors of the research papers are Delia Grace and Lucy Lapar, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Hung Nguyen-Viet who leads research at CENPHER-HSPH and is a joint appointee of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and ILRI.
The papers are in Vietnamese with abstracts available in English. Listed below are the titles of the papers.
- Risk assessment and health research in Vietnam (editorial)
- Risk assessment of Salmonella in pork in Hanoi, Vietnam
- Food-borne hazards in a transforming pork value chain in Hanoi: Basis for future risk assessments
- Health risk due to exposure to chlorpyrifos for farmers in Thai Binh: Probabilistic risk assessment
- Risk assessment of arsenic contamination in tube-well drinking water in Hanam Province
- Environmental health risk assessment of dioxin in foods in Da Nang dioxin hot spot
- Prevalence of Salmonella contamination in pig and pork at farms and slaughterhouses in the northern provinces of Vietnam
- Air pollution as a health issue in Hanoi, Vietnam: An opportunity for intensified research to inform public policy
- Environmental health risk communication: Concept, principles and challenges
- Training and research programs in health risk assessment in Vietnam
- Task force of risk assessment for food safety in Vietnam: Linking science to policy to increase food safety and livelihood generation of the poor farmer
- Research projects on health risk assessment implemented by the Hanoi School of Public Health
The special edition also includes news on risk assessment training in Vietnam and reviews of two books on risk assessment.
For more information on this special edition, please contact Hung Nguyen-Viet (hung.nguyen @ unibas.ch).
AgHealth 
Tuesday 23 July 2013 at 12:31 pm
Reblogged this on Dr. B. A. Usman's Blog.