TTLA: Policy on developing research and development (R&D) activities to increase the consumer-friendliness of traditional medicine

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the researcher:Dinh Thanh Ha    

2. Gender: Male

3. Date of birth: December 26, 1973

4. Place of birth: Ha Nam

5. Decision on recognition of PhD student No. 2999/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH, dated December 30, 2013.

6. Changes in the training process: The thesis topic has been adjusted from "Policy for developing R&D activities to increase the friendliness of traditional medicine to consumers" to "Policy for developing research and development (R&D) activities to increase the friendliness of traditional medicine to consumers", according to Decision No. 3810/QD-XHNV dated November 15, 2016 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

7. Thesis topic name:Policy on developing research and development (R&D) activities to increase the consumer-friendliness of traditional medicine

8. Major: Science and Technology Management Code: Pilot training

9. Scientific instructor:Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Ha and Dr. Trinh Ngoc Thach

10. Summary of new results of the thesis:

- The impact of the friendliness of traditional medicine on consumers:

Research results: Some factors that consumers are very interested in when choosing traditional medicine are: effectiveness, safety, convenience, price and product design.

Practical survey results: 83.8% of consumers are interested in the treatment effectiveness, 80.9% of consumers are interested in the safety and 56.1% are interested in the convenience of traditional medicine. These are three dominant factors that reflect the friendliness of traditional medicine.

So, increasing the friendliness of traditional medicine will increase consumers.

- Impact of R&D activities on the friendliness of traditional medicine:

Research results: R&D activities play a role in creating, improving, innovating and increasing the scientific content in traditional medicine products.

Practical survey results: All scientific organizations and the majority of scientists surveyed assessed that R&D resources have an impact on increasing the friendliness of traditional medicine; financial investment in R&D activities will increase the market share of traditional medicine, increase the quantity of traditional medicine consumed - these are indicators reflecting the impact of R&D activities on the friendliness of traditional medicine.

Thus, developing R&D activities will increase the friendliness of TCM.

- Current status and role of policy on R&D activities in Traditional Medicine:

Document research results: Policy is a social institution, playing a role in creating society. This is a management tool.

Practical survey results: 82.7% of scientists and 6/7 (85.7%) of scientific organizations assessed that the policy has a positive impact on R&D activities in Traditional Medicine. The current status of R&D policy in Traditional Medicine is still lacking and has not linked R&D activities between areas: medicinal materials - research - production, in the value chain to create Traditional Medicine products.

Therefore, there is a need for a policy framework to help managers develop regulations, guidelines and directions to link R&D activities between regions, supplement R&D resources, to develop R&D activities in TCM.

- Proposed policy framework:

According to the survey results, the trend of using traditional medicine is increasingly popular, the market penetration rate of traditional medicine is from 5 - 20%/year, while the traditional medicine industry still has some limitations. The proposal of a policy framework linking R&D activities in 3 areas: medicinal materials - research - production according to the value chain to create traditional medicine products, supplementing some R&D policies, will help the traditional medicine industry take advantage of opportunities, overcome limitations, to develop R&D activities and increase the friendliness of traditional medicine.

In the context that the Ministry of Health is encouraging Vietnamese people to prioritize using Vietnamese medicine, identifying the impact process and proposing impact solutions, from: policies to developing R&D activities to increasing the friendliness of traditional medicine to increasing consumers, will help attract Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese traditional medicine.

11. Practical applicability: The results of the thesis can be applied as a tool to help managers form regulations, guidelines and orientations for developing R&D activities in Traditional Medicine as proposed in the Policy Framework, thereby helping to increase the quality and competitiveness of Traditional Medicine and develop R&D activities in Traditional Medicine.

12. Further research directions:

Evaluation of investment efficiency for R&D in Traditional Medicine.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

1. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2015), “Identifying some policy issues that need to be addressed to increase the consumer-friendliness of traditional medicine”, Military Traditional Medicine Journal T. V(2), pp.10-15.

2. Dinh Thanh Ha (2015), “The role of R&D activities in improving the quality of traditional medicine”, Journal of Policy and Management Research - VNU Journal of Science, (2), pp.54-59.

3. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2016), “R&D policy system in the value chain of creating traditional medicine products”, Military Traditional Medicine Journal, Vol. VI(1), pp.1-10.

4. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2016), “The impact of the friendliness of traditional medicine on consumers”, Journal of Traditional Military Medicine and Pharmacy, Vol. VI(2), pp.9-14.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Dinh Thanh Ha 2. Sex: Male

3. Date of birth: December 26, 1973 4. Place of birth: Ha Nam

5. Admission decision number: 2999/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH; Dated: December 30, 2013

6. Changes in academic process: The thesis title was adjusted from “Policy to develop (R&D) activity to increase the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine with consumers” to “Policy to develop Research and Development (R&D) activity to increase the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine with consumers” according to the Decision No. 3810/QD-XHNV dated November 15, 2016 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

7. Official thesis title: Policy to develop Research and Development (R&D) activity to increase the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine with consumers

8. Major: Management of Science and Technology Code: Experimental training

9. Supervisors: 1. Assoc. Prof., PhD. Nguyen Minh Ha; 2. PhD. Trinh Ngoc Thach

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- Impact of the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine on consumers' decision

Documentation findings: There are several factors that consumers consider when choosing a traditional herbal medicine (THM): efficiency, safety, administration convenience, price and product design.

Field survey findings: 83.8% of consumers were interested in the efficiency, 80.9% interested in the safety and 56.1% interested in administration convenience of THM. Here are three dominant factors, reflecting the friendly degree of THM and impacting on consumers' decision when choosing a THM.

Therefore, once the friendly degree of THM increased results in the increase of the number of THM consumers.

- Impact of R&D activities on the friendly degree of THM

Documentation findings: R&D activities play the roles of creating, innovating and increasing scientific content in new THM products.

Field survey findings: All scientific organizations and most of scientists in the survey assessed that, R&D resources had an impact on increasing the friendly degree of THM; and that financial investment in R&D activities would increase the market share of THM, increase the number of THMs consumed - these are indicators reflecting the impact of R&D activities on the friendly degree of THM.

So, developing R&D activities will increase the friendly degree of THM.

- Current status and role of policies in R&D activities in traditional medicine

Documentation findings: Policy is a social institution, play a role of social construction. This is a management tool.

Field survey findings: 82.7% of scientists and 6/7 (85.7%) scientific organizations evaluated, policy has a positive impact on R&D activities in traditional medicine.

The current R&D policy system in traditional medicine is insufficient, unsystematic and there is no link of R&D activities between the fields: herbal materials - research - production, on the value chain creating new THM products.

Therefore, there should be a policy framework to help managers develop regulations, guidelines and orientations for linking R&D between sectors and supplementing more R&D resources, to develop R&D activities in traditional medicine.

- The proposed policy framework

The findings of the thesis show, the trend of using traditional medicine products is more and more popular, the market penetration rate of traditional drugs is from 5 to 20% per year, while the traditional medicine sector still has some limitations. Proposing a policy framework linking R&D activities in three areas: herbal materials - research - production, on the value chain creating new THM products, adding more R&D policies, can help traditional medicine sector take advantage of opportunities, overcome weaknesses, to develop R&D activities and to increase the friendly degree of THM.

In the context that the Ministry of Health is encouraging Vietnamese people to prioritize the use of Vietnamese medicines, identifying the impact process and suggesting solutions to the impact, from: policies à develop R&D activities à increase the friendly degree of THM à increase number of consumers, would help attract Vietnamese people using Vietnamese traditional medicines.

11. Practical applicability, if any:

The conclusion of the thesis can be applied as a tool to help managers establish regulations, guidelines and orientations for R&D activities in traditional medicine as proposed in the Policy Framework, thereby increasing the quality and competitiveness of THMs and developing R&D activities.

12. Further research directions, if any:

Evaluate the outcome of the investment for R&D activities in Vietnam traditional medicine.

13. Thesis-related publications:

1. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2015), “Identify some policy problems to solve in order to increase the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine with consumers”, Journal of Military Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy, Vol.V(2), pp.10-15.

2. Dinh Thanh Ha, "The role of R&D activities in improving the quality of traditional herbal medicine", Policy and Management Studies, VNU Journal of Science, (2), pp.54-59.

3. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2016), “System of R&D policies in the value chain of creating new traditional herbal medicines”, Journal of Military Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy, Vol. VI(1), pp.1-10.

4. Dinh Thanh Ha, Nguyen Minh Ha, Trinh Ngoc Thach (2016), “Impact of the friendly degree of traditional herbal medicine on consumers”, Journal of Military Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy, Vol. VI(2), pp.9-14.