Efforts to have healthy children

Medical staff of A Doi commune, Huong Hoa district take blood samples for prenatal screening for pregnant mothers - Photo: DSHH

Deployed since 2010 with the initial pilot phase in 50% of communes, wards and towns in the province, up to now 100% of communes, wards and towns have implemented the program. To effectively implement the program, the Provincial Department of Population has coordinated with the Provincial General Hospital, medical centers of districts, towns and cities to organize training for doctors and nurses on improving blood collection techniques for prenatal and newborn screening.

Training provides basic knowledge and skills on prenatal and newborn screening, propaganda skills, and mobilizing subjects to participate in the program for commune population officials and population collaborators. Strengthen propaganda and counseling for people, especially couples of childbearing age and pregnant women about the purpose, meaning, and importance of screening... Coordinate with the Center for Prenatal and Newborn Screening and Diagnosis of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy to conduct tests for subjects whose blood samples are taken for screening.

In 2024 alone, the Provincial Department of Population will coordinate with Gene Solutions Company to organize a workshop on the program "Socializing NIPT TriSure testing for all pregnant women, improving the quality of Vietnam's population" for 45 provincial and district health workers to expand prenatal and newborn screening services through socialized channels. Organize 85 conferences to provide information to heads of Party committees, authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations with 2,473 delegates attending.

Integrate the activities of the program on screening, diagnosing and treating some prenatal and neonatal diseases and disabilities into the programs and projects on population work in the new situation being implemented locally. In addition, promote direct propaganda and mobilization activities in the community such as: thematic talks, group activities to provide information on prenatal and neonatal screening for couples of childbearing age; group activities for young men and women before marriage.

4,053 people have been directly counseled and mobilized at their households about screening, diagnosis and treatment of some congenital diseases through the population collaborators, village and neighborhood health workers and propagandists of grassroots sectors and organizations. Integrating communication content on screening, diagnosis and treatment of some prenatal and neonatal diseases and disabilities; counseling and pre-marital health check-ups into the activities of sectors and organizations at the grassroots level.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Lan in Quarter 3, Dong Giang Ward, Dong Ha City shared: “Every parent wants their child to be born healthy and safe. Therefore, during both pregnancies, I went to a medical facility for consultation, prenatal and newborn screening to check if my child is at risk of any diseases, so that timely intervention measures can be taken.”

The provincial health and population sector has expanded its network of services providing screening, diagnosis and treatment of a number of prenatal and neonatal diseases using ultrasound and dried blood sampling techniques at 3 provincial general hospitals, 9 district health centers and 125 commune, ward and town health stations.

The medical staff provides consultation and service packages at the unit for people to know and use. The number of people participating in socialized screening services is increasing. 100% of commune, ward and town health stations have consultation points on prenatal and newborn screening according to the professional guidance of the Ministry of Health. At the same time, the population staff is always trained and updated with knowledge and skills to propagate prenatal and newborn screening programs.

Also in 2024, public health facilities at the provincial and district levels will proactively coordinate with the Center for Prenatal and Neonatal Screening and Diagnosis - Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy to provide prenatal screening for 488 pregnant mothers and 2,591 newborns who are exempted from fees according to regulations. In addition, from the funding source of Resolution 45/2020/NQ-HDND, the Provincial Department of Population has purchased blood sampling kits for prenatal and neonatal screening to ensure timely blood sampling for subjects according to regulations.

Thereby, creating a change in people's awareness and behavior towards prenatal and newborn screening. Thanks to that, 4,310 pregnant mothers were screened, accounting for 50.3% of the total number of pregnant mothers in the year, detecting 96 suspected cases of disease. There were 4,429 newborns screened, accounting for 52.1% of the total number of live births in the year, detecting 116 suspected abnormal cases.

In addition to the achieved results, the implementation of the project encountered many limitations and difficulties such as: some pregnant women were not screened at the prescribed time, making it difficult to detect the risks of fetal malformations for diagnosis. Some medical facilities did not have complete statistics on the number of people participating in socialized prenatal and newborn screening services...

“In the coming time, the provincial health and population sector will continue to strengthen communication and education to raise awareness and change the behavior of people, families and communities about prenatal and newborn screening. In particular, focus on promoting people to go for screening at the prescribed time. Expand the socialization of this service so that more subjects can participate in screening and regularly urge and require medical facilities to fully count the subjects participating in the service.

From there, it helps to detect diseases and disabilities early and minimize the consequences in children, contributing to the goal of improving population quality," said Dr. Nguyen Huong Chuong, Deputy Head of the Provincial Population Department.

Ngoc Trang

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/no-luc-de-nhung-dua-tre-sinh-ra-khoe-manh-192487.htm