HCMC – 11.1.2023
As a community-driven health information system, D.Health has been the digital platform enabling the management and reporting of community HIV outreach, testing, counseling, and demographic information, supporting field and facility-based work and providing USAID/LIFFE Centre projects with critical data to inform further program management and intervention. However, given the need to increase population knowledge and awareness to enhance motivation for people to test and seek additional beneficial services, D.Health has been upgraded to integrate these functions, bringing them to the palm of the client’s hand to access any-time, from anywhere. The client interface in the upgraded D.Health app allows users to explore and utilize numerous existing and new community-based services including directly scheduling appoints with CBOs/DOMEs – including meeting with community outreach workers, ordering free HIV self-test kits, and seeking tailored services to users from outreach/information to screening, referral, and support.
The application also integrates fun new games which reinforce users’ knowledge. Users can also earn points and enter to win prizes, and to experience much more exciting things as the system evolves. On January 11th, USAID LADDERS hosted an event to introduce the newly upgraded D.Health 2.0 to more than 100 people from VAAC, USAID and IPs, provincial CDCs, affiliated CBOs and young clients. Participants also got a chance to experience the application on site and share their feedback and reaction.
Given how technologically advanced systems are in Vietnam, particularly among KP groups, moving towards a more comprehensive and engaging online option for people to be reached can enhance both outreach and service provision. The next year will show whether this enhancement has led to identifying more new people in need of HIV services and optimizing the system’s capacity and accountability to deliver. This intervention will seek to maximize the impact and coverage of community HIV work contributing toward ending AIDS by 2030 in Vietnam.


