Applied Epidemiology during COVID-19 in Vietnam
Creators: name: Ha-Linh, Quach
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2022

description: This thesis presents projects I conducted between February 2020 to December 2021 to meet the competencies of the Master of Applied Epidemiology Program (MAE) of the Australian National University (ANU). During this period, I was employed at the Department of Communicable Disease Control of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Chapter 1 – Introduction. This chapter provides an overview of my field placement, describes how I met the different MAE requirements, and presents other side projects I have been involved in during my MAE that do not fall under the MAE competencies. Chapter 2 – Investigate an outbreak: In-flight transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam: Results from an outbreak investigation and containment measures. This project covers the investigation of and response to an in-flight COVID-19 transmission event in Vietnam in March 2020. I took part in the investigations from the beginning which resulted in the publication of two journal articles: one on the in-depth investigation of the on-board transmission event (Journal Article 1), and another one describing the response activities to prevent community transmission (Journal Article 2). We found that one infectious passenger in business class very likely infected at least 12 other passengers during a 10-hour flight, many of whom were seated beyond the two-row/seat distance threshold that is usually used for contact tracing among airplane passengers. Timely, systematic and comprehensive contact tracing of all passengers and their close contacts was needed to prevent widespread community transmission. Chapter 3 – Analyze a public health dataset: Association of public health interventions and COVID19 incidence in Vietnam, January to December 2020. In this project I analyzed the relation between public health interventions and COVID-19 incidence in Vietnam over the course of 2020, which culminated in the publication of Journal Article 3. This analysis, which was the first of its kind in Vietnam and the region, identified important associations between the timing of public health interventions and changes in the reproductive number of SARSCoV-2. Chapter 4 – Evaluate a surveillance system: After action review of the COVID-19 surveillance system in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam in 2020. For this project I conducted a Literature Review on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s After Action Review (AAR) toolkit, and used it to evaluate the effectiveness of the surveillance system in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam in preventing and controlling COVID-19. This evaluation, presented as a Final Report in this chapter, was part of a WHO-funded initiative to learn lessons from the COVID19 response in Vietnam. While central coordination and adaptive capacity during the emergency were identified as strengths, my evaluation also provides important recommendations on how to improve the surveillance system in Quang Ninh province, in particular through improved integration of different data systems and communication channels between health jurisdictions of Quang Ninh’s healthcare system. Chapter 5 – Design an epidemiological project: User-generated online information in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam in July – September 2020. In this project I investigated so-called ‘infodemics’ related to a COVID-19 outbreak in Da Nang province, Vietnam between July and September 2020 by applying content analysis and semantic network analysis to publicly available user-generated information from the internet. I conducted two separate analyses: one on ‘infodemics’ related to COVID-19 incidence and mortality, which resulted in Submitted Article Manuscript 1; and another on ‘infodemics’ in relation to public health interventions, which resulted in Submitted Article Manuscript 2. Findings showed that public awareness and perceptions were highly correlated with the evolution of COVID-19 incidence and mortality (at first) during the outbreak, while misinformation and unverified information related to public health interventions that were implemented in response to the outbreak were also prevalent. Chapter 6 – Other MAE requirements. In this chapter I report on other MAE requirements which I completed during my fellowship, namely the publication of a Lay Audience Report, the Lesson From The Field, and the Teaching Experience