We are working at Hue Central Hospital assisting with the psychosocial support provision. We have also worked with teams across 4 hospitals in Vietnam providing a Training of Trainers Psychosocial Support programme for Healthcare Professionals.
400,000 children
are expected to develop cancer worldwide each year
26.2 million
population of under-18s in Vietnam
Programme Information
Programme
Centre
- Hue Central Hospital, Hue
- Vietnam Palliative Health Care Society, Ho Chi Minh City
- City Children’s Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City
- National Children’s Hospital, Hanoi
Twinning
Centre
Contact
Megan Cruise – Psychosocial Support Advisor
Background
In Vietnam, the standard of treatment for childhood cancers is higher than in our other programme countries and there are several international partners currently working there to improve treatment quality further. However, there is an exceptionally high level of treatment rejection and abandonment, usually by the most vulnerable families.
To respond to this need and reduce levels of treatment rejection and abandonment, we began a new programme to develop holistic psychosocial support services that will not only provide families with the means to access financial support, but will also provide emotional and practical support to strengthen their ability to cope with their child’s diagnosis and understand the importance of treatment.
By developing psychosocial services specifically geared towards meeting the needs of childhood cancer patients and their families, we aim to establish a model of best practice which can be replicated at other hospitals in Vietnam. We have established this service and the role of a specialist paediatric oncology Family Support Officer at Hue Central Hospital.

Key Activities
- Developing a model of paediatric oncology Family Support at Hue Central Hospital by recruiting, training, and mentoring Vietnam’s first specialist Paediatric Oncology Family Support Officer
- Training of Trainers: Childhood Cancer Psychosocial Support Programme for Healthcare Professionals

Problems
- Treatment abandonment rates are high
- Children from the most vulnerable population are underserved and less likely to reach the appropriate care
- Lack of psychologists and social workers to provide specialist support to families who have a child with cancer
