YTCC | BÀI 3: KHÁI NIỆM SỨC KHỎE VÀ CÁC YẾU TỐ QUYẾT ĐỊNH SỨC KHỎE (14/09/2026)

Course Structure and Administration

The course is worth four theoretical credits:

• Three credits are taught by the Department of Healthcare Organization and Management and cover health concepts, primary health care, health indicators, health needs, and health problems.
• One credit is taught by the Department of Epidemiology and concerns population studies.

The lecturer said that lessons 1–12 were assigned to the health-management department and lessons 13–20 to epidemiology. The order of lectures may differ from the published schedule because of teaching arrangements.

Attendance is recorded according to the class’s assigned schedule, whether a session is online or in person. The lecturer described using the school’s MS Teams link for sessions connected to the school timetable and a course link when the course is conducted fully online.

Students were asked to follow department announcements and communications through official channels and class representatives.

Assessment and Study Expectations

The lecturer described attendance as worth 10% of the course grade and the final multiple-choice theory exam as 70%. Group assignments also contribute to the overall grade, but their exact percentage was not clear in the subtitles.

The final exam was described as having 100 questions and lasting about 70 minutes. Its schedule had not yet been officially announced.

Because the exam may cover material from across the course, students should study all lessons in an organized way rather than concentrating on only a few topics.

Group assignments are organized around students’ clinical-practice groups. Students are expected to contribute meaningfully; according to the lecturer, a student confirmed as having made no contribution may receive zero for the group assignment.

The lecturer said the course did not use a separate cutoff score and that an overall score of 4 or higher was enough to pass. These grading details should be checked against the department’s official course documents.

Connection to Later Community-Health Fieldwork

The theoretical course is linked to a later three-credit community-health fieldwork module, described as a three-week placement at a local health station. Together, the theory and fieldwork components total seven credits. Students may need to review the theory before the placement, which takes place later in the program.

The lecturer outlined a typical approach to a health-station project:

1. Understand the setting and programs: Identify the health programs operating at the station and review their plans and targets.
2. Examine performance data: Compare actual results with intended goals.
3. Identify priority health problems: Determine what is not working well or remains unresolved.
4. Analyze causes: Use a problem tree to map factors contributing to the problem.
5. Set goals and propose responses: Use a goal tree and develop interventions aimed at addressing the causes.
6. Present the work: Prepare a group project for review and presentation, following the department’s instructions.

Health and Public Health

The lecture introduced the World Health Organization’s definition of health: health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

The lecturer described this as a widely used, broad definition, while noting that it can be difficult to meet fully at every moment and has been criticized.

Public health was presented as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts of society.

The main contrast with clinical medicine was:

• Clinical medicine focuses primarily on diagnosing and treating an individual’s immediate condition.
• Public health also investigates why the condition occurred, what broader factors contributed to it, and how similar harm can be prevented for that person or the wider population.

For example, a clinician may treat a person’s broken leg after a traffic accident. A public-health approach would also examine possible causes—such as driving skills, vision, alcohol or drug use, road and vehicle safety, access to services, and wider social or economic circumstances—and consider how to prevent future accidents.

The lecture grouped determinants of health into individual characteristics, lifestyle and behavior, and the physical, social, and economic environment. These factors interact rather than operating independently. The lecturer encouraged future clinicians to consider patients’ circumstances and risk factors alongside diagnosis and treatment.

Student Well-Being and Social Relationships

Physical, mental, and social well-being were discussed as connected aspects of health. Examples included physical fitness, sustained stress or anxiety, family circumstances, friendships, and support networks.

The lecturer advised students experiencing persistent mental-health difficulties to seek support from family, health services, or school counseling resources rather than leaving the problem unaddressed.

Social support and cooperation were also linked to learning and medical practice, where good outcomes often depend on teamwork among healthcare professionals.

Foreign-Language Preparation and Broader Course Relevance

The lecturer stated that the graduation language requirement was level 3/6 on Vietnam’s foreign-language framework, corresponding to B1. The subtitles include an earlier, conflicting guess of B2, which the lecturer subsequently corrected.

Students were encouraged to prepare early rather than wait until the later, busier years of the program. The lecturer mentioned VSTEP as a commonly used option and referred to school-supported preparation and exam arrangements.

The lecturer also noted that public-health knowledge may be useful in later fieldwork, professional competency assessments, and medical practice. Students were encouraged to take the subject seriously even if it initially seems less clinically focused.

Speakers and Sources

• Dr. Dat Hao Dang — Primary lecturer, introduced as a lecturer in the Department of Healthcare Organization and Management and an academic-affairs officer.
• Students in the online class — Several unnamed students asked questions or responded; one student was addressed as Son.
• Unnamed narrator in an embedded public-health video — Presented the WHO definition of health, defined public health, and contrasted public-health and clinical approaches using a traffic-accident example.
• Referenced instructors and staff: Dr. Duong Anh Thi, identified as course coordinator and lecturer; Ms. Linh Phuong; and other unnamed lecturers from the health-management and epidemiology departments.

Sources and materials mentioned included the World Health Organization’s definition of health, the course schedule and grading information, the medical training-program framework, department and school announcements, and the embedded public-health video.