Thu-Trang Vuong

Healthcare consumers’ sensitivity to costs: a reflection on behavioural economics from an emerging market

Decision-making regarding healthcare expenditure hinges heavily on an individuals health status and the certainty about the future. This study uses data on propensity of general health exam (GHE) spending to show that despite the debate on the necessity of GHE, its objective is clear—to obtain more information and certainty about one’s health so as to minimise future risks. Most studies on this topic, however, focus only on factors associated with GHE uptake and overlook the shifts in behaviours and attitudes regarding different levels of cost. To fill the gap, this study analyses a dataset of 2068 subjects collected from Hanoi (Vietnam) and its vicinities using the baseline-category logit method. We evaluate the sensitivity of Vietnamese healthcare consumers against two groups of factors (demographic and socioeconomic-cognitive) regarding payment for periodic GHE, which is not covered by insurance. Our study shows that uninsured, married and employed individuals are less sensitive to cost than their counterparts because they value the information in reducing future health uncertainty. The empirical results challenge the objections to periodic health screening by highlighting its utility. The relevance of behavioural economics is further highlighted through a look at the bounded rationality of healthcare consumers and private insurance companies in using and providing the service, respectively.

Exploring Vietnamese co-authorship patterns in social sciences with basic network measures of 2008-2017 Scopus data

Background: Collaboration is a common occurrence among Vietnamese scientists; however, insights into Vietnamese scientific collaborations have been scarce. On the other hand, the application of social network analysis in studying science collaboration has gained much attention all over the world. The technique could be employed to explore Vietnam’s scientific community. Methods: This paper employs network theory to explore characteristics of a network of 412 Vietnamese social scientists whose papers can be found indexed in the Scopus database. Two basic network measures, density and clustering coefficient, were taken, and the entire network was studied in comparison with two of its largest components. Results: The networks connections are very sparse, with a density of only 0.47%, while the clustering coefficient is very high (58.64%). This suggests an inefficient dissemination of information, knowledge, and expertise in the network. Secondly, the disparity in levels of connection among individuals indicates that the network would easily fall apart if a few highly-connected nodes are removed. Finally, the two largest components of the network were found to differ from the entire networks in terms of measures and were both led by the most productive and well-connected researchers. Conclusions: High clustering and low density seems to be tied to inefficient dissemination of expertise among Vietnamese social scientists, and consequently low scientific output. Also low in robustness, the network shows the potential of an intellectual elite composed of well-connected, productive, and socially significant individuals.

Gender, age, research experience, leading role and academic productivity of Vietnamese researchers in the social sciences and humanities: exploring a 2008-2017 Scopus dataset

Academic productivity has been studied by scholars all around the world for many years. However, in Vietnam, this topic has thus far been under-researched. This research therefore aims to better understand the correlations between gender, age, research experience, the leading role of corresponding authors and the total numbers of their publications, in the specific realm of social sciences. The study employs a Scopus dataset during 2008-2017, containing publication profiles of 410 Vietnamese researchers. Contrary to a range of previous studies, the results indicate that among accomplished social scientists, males have not been more productive or proficient than females with respect to academic publications (βmale = -0.179, p = 0.60). On the other hand, the proficient skills and broad vision of corresponding authors have proved to exert a rather strong influence on their sheer number of papers (ρ = 0.832). Older age and longer research time also contribute to more success in their academic careers (βage≥50 = 0.950, p

What Makes Vietnamese (Not) Attend Periodic General Health Examinations? A 2016 Cross-sectional Study

Objectives General health examinations (GHE) have become an increasingly common measure for preventive medicine in Vietnam. However, little is known about the factors among Viet-namese people who attend or miss GHE. Budget or time constraints remain to be evaluated for better-informed policy making. This study investigates factors affecting behaviors in attending periodic GHE. The main objectives are as follows: (1) to explore empirical relationships between influencing factors and periodic GHE frequencies, and (2) to predict the probabilities of attending GHE under associated conditions. Methods The study used a 2,068-observational dataset, obtained from a Vietnamese survey in 2016. The analysis was then performed using the methods of baseline-category logits for establishing relationships between predictor and response variables. Results Significant relationships were found among the expenditure and time consumption, health priority and sensitivity to health data, insurance status, and frequency of GHE, with most p-values = 0.01. Conclusion Generally, people attended the GHE when they had the resources and health priorities (72.7% probability). Expenditure and time remain key obstacles to the periodic GHE. Health priority and health data are important in improving rates for GHEs. Health insurance should play a positive role in promoting the GHE.

An open database of productivity in Vietnam's social sciences and humanities for public use

This study presents a description of an open database on scientific output of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities, one that corrects for the shortcomings in current research publication databases such as data duplication, slow update, and a substantial cost of doing science. Here, using scientists’ self-reports, open online sources and cross-checking with Scopus database, we introduce a manual system and its semi-automated version of the database on the profiles of 657 Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities who have published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2008 to 2018. The final system also records 973 foreign co-authors, 1,289 papers, and 789 affiliations. The data collection method, highly applicable for other sources, could be replicated in other developing countries while its content be used in cross-section, multivariate, and network data analyses. The open database is expected to help Vietnam revamp its research capacity and meet the public demand for greater transparency in science management.

Health Care Payments in Vietnam: Patients’ Quagmire of Caring for Health versus Economic Destitution

In the last three decades many developing and middle-income nations’ health care systems have been financed via out-of-pocket payments by individuals. User fees charges, however, may not be the best approach or thenmost equitable approach to finance and/or reform health services in developing nations. This study investigates the status of Vietnam’s current health system as a result of implementing user fees policies. A recent mandate by the government to increase the universal cover to 100% attempts to tackle inadequate insurance cover, one of the four major factors contributing to the high and increasing probability of destitution for Vietnamese patients (the other three being: non-residency, long stay in hospital, and high cost of treatment). Empirical results however suggest that this may be catastrophic for low-income earners: if insurance cover reimbursement decreases below 50% of actual health expenditures, the probability of Vietnamese falling into destitution will rise further. Our findings provide policy implications and directions to improve Vietnam’s health care system, in particular by ensuring the utilization of health services and financial protection for the people.

Effects of work environment and collaboration on research productivity in Vietnamese social sciences: evidence from 2008 to 2017 scopus data

ABSTRACT Identifying factors that affect research productivity is critical to both the scientific community and policy-makers. This topic is especially useful for developing countries like Vietnam where such studies are scarce with limited original data. This paper, through a manual data collection process that yields the profiles of 406 Vietnamese social scientists with publications in Scopus-indexed journals in 2008–2017, uses the ordinary least squares method to analyse the effects of two factors on research productivity. It adds to the literature by showing the extent to which (i) work environment (‘universities’ and ‘research institutions’); (ii) collaboration affect the adjusted research productivity of social scientists. Contrary to the usual belief, university-affiliated authors in Vietnam turned out to have higher research productivity than institution-affiliated peers. International collaboration could boost research output, although this effect is insignificant among the high-performing authors. The paper also suggests some policy implications for Vietnam facing challenges in science management.

Relationship between Past Experience, Social Network Participation and Creative Capacity: Vietnamese Entrepreneurship Survey

The notions of entrepreneurship and creativity in developed economies, despite having gained attention among researchers, remain embryonic in numerous emerging economies. Being focused on entrepreneurs in a typical transitional and emerging market economy, Vietnam, this paper aims to empirically explore the influence that past entrepreneurial efforts may exert on the perceptions of entrepreneurs about their own creativity performance. The study also seeks to understand how entrepreneurs social networks contribute to perceived creativity capacity by entrepreneurs who participate in those societies. The empirical research results suggest that entrepreneurs with business experience and active networking engagement are more likely to believe in their own creativity. This knowledge and insights in turn offer some implications for addressing the lack of radical creativity among Vietnamese entrepreneurs.

Relationship between past experience, social network participation and innovative capacity: Vietnamese entrepreneurship in transition

The notions of entrepreneurship and creativity in developed economies, despite having gained attention among researchers, remain embryonic in numerous emerging economies. Being focused on entrepreneurs in a typical transitional and emerging market economy, Vietnam, this paper aims to empirically explore the influence that past entrepreneurial efforts may exert on the perceptions of entrepreneurs about their own creative performance. The study also seeks to understand how entrepreneurs social networks contribute to perceived innovative capacity by entrepreneurs who participate in those societies. The empirical research results suggest that entrepreneurs with business experience and active networking engagement are more likely to believe in their own innovative capacity. The knowledge and insights in turn offer some implications for addressing the lack of radical innovation among Vietnamese entrepreneurs.