A Case Management Model of Healthcare Delivery for People with Disabilities affected by the Legacies of the Vietnam War: Agent Orange and Unexploded Ordnance

Background:  For ten years during the Vietnam War, 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, mainly Agent Orange were sprayed to exfoliate vegetation to enhance military surveillance.  Unfortunately, the toxic chemical dioxin destroyed the ecological environment impacting the Vietnamese directly exposed and their offspring resulting in various disabilities.  Additionally, there were undetonated explosive weapons deployed that remain in the environment posing a risk of detonation decades later. 

 

Method:  Veterans for Peace have requested monetary assistance from the USAID to fund Project RENEW (Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War) in their efforts to assist the victims of Agent Orange and unexploded ordnance.   The proposal is to develop and implement a five year plan integrating concepts of community based rehabilitation with case management.  RENEW is a Vietnamese managed and staffed non-governmental organization trained to international standards that currently implements ordnance survey and clearance, risk education, and provides victim assistance. 

Results:   The case management concept includes an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals to develop and deliver patient-centered rehabilitation to people with disabilities. The combination of the well established CBR model with case management will provide a more comprehensive and sustainable healthcare delivery system.  

 

Conclusions:  The case management model has been used extensively in industrialized nations to coordinate care through interdisciplinary teams.  This targeted, patient-centered approach has been shown to improve quality outcomes, and efficacies while being cost effective. The victims of these war legacies may benefit from this extended model to maximize functional abilities and enhance societal integration.