Identify the key objectives (not more than four) of your field trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. What do you and your team want to achieve through this visit? Please explain why you think that those are suitable and achievable objectives for your team?

Assignment 1: Preparation for the field

Total marks - 30 (Weighting - 30%)

BACKGROUND:

Rabies, a fatal viral disease of animals and humans, continues to pose a serious threat to human health and livelihoods in Viet Nam. According to a report from Vietnam Ministry of Health, approximately 400,000 people got bitten by suspected rabid dog and around 90 people were killed per year due to rabies during the past 5 years from 2011 to 2015 (Lee et al., 2018; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016) . In addition, more than 407,000 courses of Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) are administered annually, causing a major economic burden (Lee et al., 2018; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016; T. Nguyen, Hoang, & Nguyen, 2013).

The key factors contributing to the disease include a low vaccination coverage in dogs, a lack of public awareness and access to human rabies immune globulin (RIG) and vaccine (Lee et al., 2018; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016; H. T. T. Nguyen et al., 2018). Rabies surveillance results on humans in the past recent years have indicated that 89.2% of those who have been vaccinated against rabies are bitten by domestic dogs (Lee et al., 2018; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016; T. Nguyen et al., 2013). Most of the rabies deaths were due to not being vaccinated against rabies, 98% of these cases were bitten by domestic dogs or having contact with dogs such as taking care of sick dogs or slaughtering dogs (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016; K. Nguyen et al., 2016). In partnership with several countries in the region, the Vietnamese government has committed to achieving the ambitious goal to eliminate canine rabies by the National Rabies control and elimination program 2016-2020 (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016). Identify the key objectives (not more than four) of your field trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. What do you and your team want to achieve through this visit? Please explain why you think that those are suitable and achievable objectives for your team?

The main endemic zone of rabies in Vietnam is the northern provinces, which account for more than 84% of reported deaths from rabies (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016). Hanoi is one of the 14 provinces/cities at medium rabies risk of rabies epidemic with 2-9 death cases in human/year (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development & Ministry of Health, 2016). The epidemic areas in Hanoi are mostly located in the rural districts of the city.

SCEARIOS:

You are a public health professional working as a researcher for the School of Medicine at Griffith University. You are going to Hanoi, Vietnam to support the rabies elimination program in the city. You will lead a team of researchers from Griffith University involving personnel from different disciplines. You, the collaborative team, have a few weeks to prepare for the field trip before traveling from Australia for Hanoi, Vietnam. You are aiming to arrive in Hanoi, Vietnam at the beginning of August 2018. You and your team will spend the whole month there.

TASKS:

Please address the following.  

Part A: (5 marks)

Identify the key objectives (not more than four) of your field trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. What do you and your team want to achieve through this visit? Please explain why you think that those are suitable and achievable objectives for your team?

Part B: (3 marks)

Consider the size and composition of the team. Who will be included and why? Your objectives should guide your team formation. Please be clear and detail about the skill sets of the team members. Please note that you don’t need to identify real people.

Part C: (17 marks)

Describe all the activities/preparations that are needed to be made before you and your team leave Australia. Also, you would need to detail what needs to be done in terms of ensuring access to the field sites, when you are in Hanoi, Vietnam. These are all about in preparation of your (your team`s) visit to the Hanoi, Vietnam and accessing the field sites there.

Please plan the trip, consider you are the leader of the mission, outline necessary steps you need to be aware of, and prepare yourself and the team members for the visit to Hanoi, Vietnam. Please keep the objectives of your field visit in mind to prepare yourselves accordingly.

Following issues should be addressed in the preparation plan.

• Characteristics of field site (3 marks)
• Collaborating institution (3 marks)
• Formalities & Logistics (2 marks)
• Safety and security (2 marks)
• Health fitness and stress (2 marks)
• Implementation plan (3 marks)
• Family & responsibilities (2 marks)

Please ensure that your responses address the context, settings and adversities into account. Please note that we are not interested in what one generally does before going abroad for field work. We are interested to know about your preparation for going to Hanoi, Vietnam in early August 2017 for the ongoing rabies outbreak there. Therefore, your responses will need to be context and settings specific.