Strengthening examination and screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of December 31, Nghe An General Hospital held a conference to review and evaluate the activities of the national target program "Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Bronchial Asthma (HPQ)" and to deploy the program's action plan for 2015. Attending the conference were Mr. Dau Huy Hoan - Deputy Director of the Department of Health, along with leaders of a number of hospitals, medical centers of districts, cities and towns in the whole province.

Overview of the conference

According to the World Health Organization (1990), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fifth leading cause of death with 2.2 million deaths. According to initial results of epidemiological studies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Vietnam, the incidence rate in our country is 4.2%, of which the incidence rate in men is 7.1% and in women is 1.9%. The reasons for the increase in mortality rate due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are high smoking rates, environmental pollution, etc.

In Nghe An, during the three years of implementing the national program “Prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma”, the provincial General Hospital has coordinated with medical centers and district hospitals to open 14 training courses, providing professional training for hundreds of medical staff from the provincial to grassroots levels. The program has also conducted examinations and screenings for people in the districts of Hung Nguyen, Cua Lo and Vinh city; over 14,000 people have been screened, over 4,500 people have had their respiratory function measured. Through the program’s screenings, over 1,000 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma have been detected, and medicine has been given to over 1,000 patients.

Although some remarkable results have been achieved, the investigation, screening and outpatient management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma have revealed difficulties such as: lack of human resources participating in investigation and screening; increasingly limited funding for the project, insufficient equipment and machinery for lower levels; related to the issue of transferring health insurance to manage patients, there are still many difficulties from lower levels...

At the conference, delegates discussed and discussed solutions to effectively implement the program's goals in the coming time. Nghe An General Hospital, as the Project Management Board, proposed that in the coming time, the provincial health sector should continue to promote the implementation of examination, screening and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma on a larger scale, with better structure and quality.

Dinh Nguyet