In March and April 2025, the AMR/IPC program under the IMPACT Project - coordinated by the School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, funded by the US CDC implemented many important activities to improve the capacity of drug resistance control and infection prevention and control (AMR/IPC) at hospitals in the project network.
1. Start the AMR/IPC Champion Program
On March 21, 2025, the AMR/IPC Champion Program kick-off workshop was held in Da Nang under the chairmanship of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management. The workshop was attended by the Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, a group of experts from Hanoi Medical University (HMU), experts from 03 EICI hospitals (Cho Ray, Hue Central, Central Tropical) and 05 Champion hospitals: Thai Nguyen, Ha Tinh, Quang Nam Provincial General Hospital, Central Highlands General Hospital and Thong Nhat Dong Nai.
After the workshop, the project was implemented 5 rounds of comprehensive technical support (TA) at 5 Champion hospitals, focusing on three main areas: Microbiology, Infection Control and Antibiotic Management. Through TA sessions, the team of experts supported the hospital in assessing the initial situation, as a basis for determining quality improvement priorities. After that, technical meetings with the hospital were held to further discuss the contents that need improvement, preparing for the development of a quality improvement project in May 2025.
2. Online workshop on building and using cumulative antibiograms
The project has organized the online seminar for hospitals in the AMR network, with the topic "Guidelines for building cumulative antibiograms" "Practices for building cumulative antibiograms". Here, experts directly commented on the cumulative antibiogram products of hospitals, and how to present them to effectively serve clinical practice and drug resistance management.
3. CME training on fungal identification and instructions on developing antifungal profiles with Candida yeast strains
From April 22–24, 2025, the program in collaboration with the Department of Microbiology - Bach Mai Hospital organizes a CME training course with the topic: “Identification of fungi and practice of antifungal testing with yeast strains Candida”. The course attracted the participation of staff from 17 hospitals in the project network. Students are trained with in-depth knowledge and directly practice the techniques of fungal identification and antifungal testing right at the laboratory of Bach Mai Hospital, contributing to improving the capacity of hospitals to identify and antifungal.
4. Training in developing quality improvement projects
At the end of April, the project was held online training workshop "Guidelines for developing quality improvement projects" for all hospitals in the network, including 3 EICI hospitals, 5 Champion hospitals and interested entities. At the training session, lecturers who are team leaders and technical coordinators of the project shared standard project templates and detailed step-by-step instructions to build projects suitable to the improvement needs of each unit.
Recent activities not only help hospitals improve their professional capacity but also contribute to forming a learning network and sharing experiences among units in the health system. The AMR/IPC program will continue to implement technical support activities and monitor the progress of developing quality improvement projects in the coming time.