Setting Priorities in Occupational Health Research in Vietnam

To set priorities for occupational health research in Vietnam, the authors developed a questionnaire, using a consensus-conference approach. The questionnaire, which was composed of two parts (five main categories with subgroups), was distributed to 51 specialists in occupational safety and health (OSH) in Vietnam. The responses from 50 persons were analyzed. Among the main categories, the environmental impact of industrial activity was rated the most important, followed by ergonomics and engineering of OSH, incidence/prevalence of work-related diseases and identification of susceptible groups, social impact of industrial activity, and OSH problems of agricultural workers. Among the three problems in the subgroup "environmental impact of industrial activity," individual health effects was considered the most important. These results were evaluated to arrive at an understanding of the actual situation of OSH problems in Vietnam.