Global Engagement Grants: Improving Occupational Health and Safety in Vietnam

Trân Huỳnh, PhD, CIH, third from left, and Hien Ngo, MSc, PhD, far right, are collaborating to create safer occupational environments for workers in Vietnam. 

A group of researchers is working to create strategies that improve occupational health and safety in Vietnam, where rapid industrial growth is contributing to increased deaths and disability in the country’s manufacturing sectors.

Hien Ngo, MSc, PhD, a faculty member at Hanoi’s Thang Long University and Trân Huỳnh, PhD, CIH, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, are collaborating on efforts to increase knowledge-sharing and capacity building in Vietnam to create safer occupational environments for the country’s workers.

Occupational risks were the tenth leading factor contributing to death and disability in Vietnam in 2021, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Disease Project.

The country’s Ministry of Labor, War, Invalids and Social Affairs states that industries with a high number of fatalities include the construction, mining, textile and garment sectors.

The research is being partially funded by a Global Engagement Grant provided by the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. These grants offer funding for innovative projects by UMN faculty, researchers, and students that blend work in research, education, and capacity-building.

Ngo and Huỳnh are working with Vietnamese partners to assist in organizing an international conference that will bring together occupational health and safety researchers from around the world to exchange knowledge and discuss capacity-building strategies.

They will also conduct a needs assessment of occupational health and safety training in the country, which Ngo and Huỳnh hope will help Vietnamese institutions and partners continue to develop best practices.

“One of the ultimate goals of this project is to build a partnership network on short- and long-term capacity building strategies in occupational health and safety in Vietnam,” says Ngo.

“Through a variety of collaborative activities between UMN and Vietnam partners such as virtual and in-person engagement meetings, academic exchange, webinars, and joint publications, we can ensure that the gap needs in occupational health and safety in Vietnam will be identified.”

Ngo adds that the project doesn’t only apply to working conditions in Vietnam. Minnesota could benefit from the work, too, she says.

“Many businesses in Minnesota operate globally, including in Vietnam. Enhancing occupational health and safety standards in Vietnam may ensure that these businesses maintain high safety standards across all their operations, protecting workers and promoting ethical practices,” says Ngo.

Huỳnh’s research has an emphasis in exposure science, occupational hygiene and community-based participatory research. She emphasized the benefit this project has had on creating relationships with colleagues in Vietnam.

She added that the experience has been foundational for her as a researcher.

“This has been a great opportunity to expand my research portfolio, collaborations, and professional network with international experts in Vietnam. The funding was essential for supporting our project partner’s work in Vietnam and building relationships between the UMN team and partners in Vietnam, both for this project and possible future initiatives,” says Huỳnh.

“The entire experience has been crucial in shaping me as a budding global health researcher.”