Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health

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Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 131 - 134

Number of People who Inject Drugs in Son La, Vietnam: Population Size Estimation Based on Official Records

Authors
Le Anh Tuan1, Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha1, Quan Dinh Nguyen2, Giang Tong Le3, Duong Cong Thanh2, Meade Morgan4, Abu S. Abdul-Quader4, *
1Department of HIV/AIDS, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
2Division of Global HIV and TB, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hanoi, Vietnam
3Program Development Office, United States Agency for International Development, Hanoi, Vietnam
4Division of Global HIV and TB, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
*Corresponding author. Email: afa3@cdc.gov
Corresponding Author
Abu S. Abdul-Quader
Received 26 March 2020, Accepted 5 May 2020, Available Online 14 May 2020.
DOI
10.2991/jegh.k.200509.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Population size estimation; people who inject drugs; Vietnam
Abstract

Aims: Estimated population sizes of key populations are critical for resource allocation as well as for monitoring program performance to prevent HIV infection. In 2018, using official records we recruited and conducted a brief survey among People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) to estimate the population size of People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Son La Province, Vietnam.

Methods: In Son La, the authorities develop and maintain a master list of individuals who are suspected of using drugs. The list is updated quarterly and is used to monitor the drug use situation in the province. The list, however, does not distinguish injecting from non-injecting drug users. Individual lists from six districts, 24 communes, and 96 hamlets were selected from among those from 12 districts, 204 communes, and 3335 hamlets in the whole province. After reviewing the lists with the hamlet health workers, based on the length of the lists, a minimum of 20% of the total or five drug users in any hamlet with fewer than 25 PWUD were randomly selected for a brief assessment. In addition to basic demographics, the assessment included any drug use in the last 3 months, injection drug use in the last 3 months, and the last time injected.

Results: A total of 250 PWUD were interviewed by hamlet health workers. The total number of PWID across all 12 districts in Son La was estimated at 4475 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 3379–5570] and the corresponding proportion of PWID among PWUD was 48.4% (95% CI: 36.6–60.4).

Conclusion: The exercise provided an estimated number of PWID in Son La. For planning HIV prevention and care service needs among PWID, additional studies using different methods are needed to validate and improve the population size of PWID in the province of Son La.

Copyright
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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<Previous Article In Issue
Next Article In Issue>
Journal
Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue
10 - 2
Pages
131 - 134
Publication Date
2020/05/14
ISSN (Online)
2210-6014
ISSN (Print)
2210-6006
DOI
10.2991/jegh.k.200509.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Le Anh Tuan
AU  - Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha
AU  - Quan Dinh Nguyen
AU  - Giang Tong Le
AU  - Duong Cong Thanh
AU  - Meade Morgan
AU  - Abu S. Abdul-Quader
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/14
TI  - Number of People who Inject Drugs in Son La, Vietnam: Population Size Estimation Based on Official Records
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 131
EP  - 134
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jegh.k.200509.001
DO  - 10.2991/jegh.k.200509.001
ID  - Tuan2020
ER  -