The survey was carried out by the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI) of the Ministry of Health in partnership with the World Bank. The survey was designed to be representative of six provinces in six distinct geographical regions. The provinces include Dien Bien, which has a large ethnic minority population and is one of the country’s poorest provinces, as well as Hanoi, one of the wealthiest areas in the country. The four other provinces (Binh Dinh, Dak Lak, Dong Nai, and Dong Thap) were selected because they have socioeconomic characteristics typical of their respective regions. Information was collected from a representative sample of commune health stations and district hospitals as well as patients who use those facilities. Elements of the information collected in the study include the availability of key inputs (infrastructure and medicines) at the facility, patient experiences, the qualifications and experience of doctors, the knowledge of doctors, and the actual practice of doctors as recorded in direct observations of clinical practice.
