Luan Vo explores private sector engagement in tuberculosis care in Viet Nam
Luan Vo recently marked an important milestone in his PhD journey by successfully completing his half-time review. His project, titled "Evaluating Private Sector Engagement through an Intermediary Agency Model for Enhanced Tuberculosis Care and Prevention in Viet Nam", explores innovative ways to strengthen TB care. In this interview, he reflects on his progress so far and shares his goals for the road ahead.
Congratulations on passing your half-time review! Could you briefly describe your PhD project?
At the center of my doctoral project is the ambition to live in a world in which tuberculosis (TB) is no longer a public health threat and the leading cause of mortality from a single bacterium. It is understood that combatting epidemics requires accounting for their socio-environmental contributors, which has evolved into the whole-of-society approach. Private sector comprises a key stakeholder in the approach. This integration is vital in low- and middle-income countries, where public health systems face a variety of shortcomings. Private sector integration has the potential to enable greater health equity via patient-centered and integrated care and to facilitate progress towards Universal Health Coverage. Thus, my doctoral project aims to evaluate private sector engagement through an intermediary agency model for enhanced tuberculosis care and prevention in Viet Nam. Specifically, the project aims to determine the individual benefits, public health impact, and comparative cost-effectiveness of the intermediary model for improved engagement of all healthcare stakeholders for TB.
How do you feel about your progress so far?
To me, progress to date has been adequate. This is based on the realization that the doctoral project is a bit like a living being that grows and develops commensurate with the dedication, effort and time invested into it. In the first two years, I invested a substantial amount of time to complete courses and publications to get ahead of the curve by half-time. In fact, now that I have begun the second half of my studies, it feels as if I am actually behind. There is still so much more work to be done and things to be learned that I could not envision at the start of the project. I also realized that doing a sandwich program constitutes a massive handicap given the pervasive distractions when not immersed in the learning environment of the KI campus. This handicap means that the traditional 4-year program is effectively condensed to a 2 to 3-year timeframe, which requires both the mental discipline and perseverance to manage competing priorities and professional commitments, to carve out the time needed to invest in this “living being” or, alternatively, to temper expectations about how much can be achieved on the project in the given timeframe.
What are your goals for the remainder of the period?
The goal for the remainder of the doctoral project is to achieve the targets outlined and agreed following the half-time seminar. This includes a timely completion of the remaining sub-studies and drafting of the kappa. However, as the doctoral project also constitutes a unique life opportunity to “indulge” in education and the intrinsic value of enriching one’s understanding of the world and the topic of interest, a bigger picture goal is perhaps the adequately engaging with the journey rather than overly focusing on the outcome as I can imagine individuals in sandwich programs like myself may be tempted to do – time permitting, of course.