BackgroundViral load (VL) monitoring of HIV-infected patients in decentralized areas is limited due to logistic constraints. Dried Blood Spots (DBS) offer the opportunity to collect samples in remote area which can be easily transferred and tested at a central laboratory. The MOVIDA (Monitoring Of Viral load In Decentralized Area) project evaluated the performance of VL measurements on DBS using the new CE marked optimized Abbott protocol.MethodsHIV-1 infected adults from three outpatient clinics in Hanoi (Vietnam) were enrolled into the study between 1 March and 13 April 2017. VL was measured on DBS using the optimized protocol provided by the manufacturer and compared to plasma VL as reference method on the Abbott m2000rt RealTime HIV-1 platform. Sensitivity was defined as the ability for DBS samples to correctly identify VL failure at the threshold of 1000 copies/mL of plasma, while specificity represented the ability to identify patients with a plasma HIV-RNA VL of <1000 copies/mL.ResultsA total of 203 patients were enrolled in the study, of which 152 (75%) were male. Median age was 38 [inter quartile range: 34–43] years. Of these patients, 37 were untreated, 38 on ART for <6 months and 117 were on ART for ≥6 months. A strong correlation between VL results in plasma and from DBS was observed (ρ = 0.95; p<0.001). Plasma VL was ≥1000 copies/mL in 71 patients. The sensitivity of DBS was 90.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 80.7–95.9) and the specificity was 96.2% (95% CI: 91.4–98.8).ConclusionsThe new optimized Abbott DBS protocol performed well in this study, meeting the WHO performance criteria for the use of DBS for HIV VL monitoring. Scaling up VL monitoring using DBS can be used to reach the last 90 in the UNAIDS targets of 90-90-90 to help end the AIDS epidemics. However, sensitivity remains the main challenge for manufacturers to prevent maintaining patients in virological failure on inefficient ART.

Introduction. Human resources are likened to the backbone of any organization ensuring its sustainable development and competition. Investment in the workforce through training programs brings back the best fruitful achievements. This study investigated six basic factors affecting the training effectiveness in Vietnam, which is considered as burdensome matters to any organization in terms of having a skilled workforce to meet the current working situation. Materials and Methods. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving a sample of 370 with e = ±5% over the population of 10,000 civil servants in Hanoi City. The quantitative data from the 5-Likert scale questionnaire among 370 respondents were addressed by IBM SPSS v.25. The semi-structured interviews relative to the same factors in the questionnaire were conducted with another 79 respondents to verify the validity of the research using NVivo v.12 for data treatment. Results. The results of the study revealed the dissatisfaction of employees with the training programs of professional development. The authors recommend to create a competent system of motivation to improve the effectiveness of training and development of employees. The leaders should conduct needs analysis seriously to comprehend the real expections of employees so that they could satisfy what lack of expertise skills and knowledge employees want to be updated. Besides, the incentive schemes and job promotion feasibilities are availed to any employee who is successfully performed well at work after the training courses. Discussion and Conclusion. The conclusions made by the authors contribute to the development of innovative training technologies in the system of professional development of the company staff. The results of the study will help HR professionals in the development of effective training programs that meet the expectations of employees.