Village Health Workers and Social Prescribing in Viet Nam: Where Could Community Connections Add Value, and What Role Boundaries Must Be Respected?
IMPLEMENTATION & PRACTICEVIET NAM CONTEXT
Village Health Workers and Social Prescribing in Viet Nam: Where Could Community Connections Add Value, and What Role Boundaries Must Be Respected?
During a routine household visit, a village health worker speaks with an older woman about a health-related matter. Before the conversation ends, she mentions that she misses meeting people outside her home. She used to enjoy a local group activity but has not attended for some time.
The health worker knows that a nearby community organization holds regular gatherings. They could mention the activity and explain where she can find more information. If she is interested, that conversation might help her reconnect with something she enjoys.
Would this be social prescribing?
Not necessarily. Sharing information about a community opportunity is different from providing a structured social prescribing service. The distinction becomes important when someone is expected to assess individual needs, arrange participation, share personal information or follow up on outcomes.
Viet Nam already has an established network of village health workers who support primary health care close to where people live. Their familiarity with local circumstances could be valuable when considering how healthcare and community resources might become better connected.
However, their existing responsibilities cannot simply be expanded because an international model appears promising. Any additional function would need to be considered alongside their legal duties, professional competence, workload and organizational arrangements.
For Viet Nam, the important question is where village health workers could appropriately contribute to community connections, which responsibilities should remain with other professionals and what conditions would be needed before introducing a new role.
Understanding the village health worker role in Viet Nam
Village health workers, known in Vietnamese as nhân viên y tế thôn, bản, have an established role in Viet Nam's grassroots healthcare system. Their main function is to support commune health stations in delivering primary health care within local communities.
Ministry of Health Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BYT, issued on December 29, 2023, and effective from January 1, 2024, regulates their standards, functions, duties, scope of medical examination and treatment activities, and professional training requirements.[1]
Although the English term village health worker suggests a rural role, the Circular also covers personnel providing primary healthcare support in residential groups (tổ dân phố). It distinguishes these workers from collaborators participating in specific healthcare programs or projects.
The Circular also regulates village-based midwives (cô đỡ thôn, bản), whose functions focus particularly on maternal and child healthcare. These are related but distinct roles, although certain combined responsibilities may be undertaken where the relevant training and other requirements are met.
Village health workers participate in health education, disease prevention, community health monitoring, maternal and child healthcare, and activities organized through commune health stations. Their responsibilities also include identifying and reporting health risks, participating in community health programs and supporting the management of selected health conditions within their defined scope.
Importantly, the Circular specifies certain medical examination and treatment activities that village health workers may perform. These include recognizing danger signs, providing initial first aid, undertaking specified basic care activities and assisting with appropriate transfer to healthcare facilities.
These activities must remain within the applicable legal requirements, professional competencies and permitted scope of practice.
Village health workers are therefore not simply community volunteers who distribute health information. They undertake established healthcare responsibilities that require appropriate preparation and accountability.
At the same time, those responsibilities do not independently authorize them to provide every form of healthcare, professional social work or community navigation.
This distinction needs to be understood before considering any additional function associated with social prescribing.
Local knowledge can help, but it does not replace individual choice
One potential contribution of village health workers is their familiarity with the communities in which they work.
Through existing healthcare activities, they may learn about local organizations, gathering places, community initiatives and practical difficulties that residents encounter.
They may know that a regular activity has changed location, that a venue is difficult to reach or that a local organization has started offering something new.
Such knowledge could help healthcare teams better understand the environment in which people live and identify opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.
However, local knowledge has limitations. A health worker may know some community organizations well and be unfamiliar with others. A group that was active several months ago may no longer meet. An activity may be available but unsuitable for a particular person.
Knowing that a service exists is not the same as knowing that it can appropriately and safely accommodate someone who wishes to participate.
There is also a difference between knowing a community and understanding an individual's preferences.
A village health worker may be familiar with someone's family or neighborhood, but that familiarity should not replace a conversation about what the person actually wants.
Someone living alone may enjoy their independence and have no interest in organized social activities. Another person may appreciate learning about a local group but prefer to contact the organizer independently.
Local knowledge is most useful when it helps people understand available choices. It becomes less helpful when familiarity leads to assumptions about their needs or decisions.
What could social prescribing add?
The World Health Organization's Western Pacific implementation toolkit describes social prescribing as an approach that connects people with appropriate non-clinical services and resources in their communities to support health and well-being.[2]
Depending on the individual and the local setting, these resources may include social, educational, cultural, recreational or other community activities.
For Viet Nam, the potential opportunity is not simply that healthcare workers know about local activities. Many already share useful community information during everyday interactions.
A more structured social prescribing approach could provide a way to support people who want additional assistance identifying or connecting with suitable non-clinical resources.
Consider the difference between giving someone the contact details of a local walking group and arranging a supported introduction.
In the first situation, a health worker may provide reliable public information about where the group meets. The person can then decide whether to make contact. That may be sufficient and useful without constituting a complete social prescribing pathway.
A structured connection might involve someone discussing the individual's interests, checking whether the activity is suitable and available, obtaining any necessary permission before sharing information, and arranging an introduction if requested.
Depending on the program, there may also be an agreed process for checking whether the connection was helpful or whether additional assistance is needed.
These activities create responsibilities that must be clearly assigned.
Someone needs to understand what information may be shared, whether the receiving organization has agreed to participate and how concerns will be handled if the proposed activity is unsuitable.
Such responsibilities should not automatically fall to village health workers simply because they already work close to the community.
Social prescribing may help organize certain connections more deliberately, but it should not turn every informal conversation into a formal referral or create new obligations for healthcare workers without an appropriate framework.
Village health workers are not automatically social prescribing link workers
Much of the international discussion about social prescribing has been influenced by the English link-worker model.
In England, social prescribing link workers provide person-centered support to help individuals identify what matters to them and connect with suitable community resources. Their role operates within a particular healthcare and organizational framework.
NHS England's workforce development framework for social prescribing link workers, updated in July 2026 and published in August, describes competencies, training, supervision and professional support associated with this work.[5]
The framework also addresses collaboration with healthcare professionals, community organizations and other services.
These principles offer useful lessons about role design and accountability. However, the framework reflects the English healthcare system and does not establish professional requirements in Viet Nam.
Vietnamese village health workers have a different legal and organizational foundation. Their duties are defined through Vietnamese regulations and their relationship with the grassroots healthcare system.
The two roles may share certain activities, including communicating with residents and helping people identify sources of support. That overlap does not make them equivalent.
For example, a village health worker helping someone understand when to contact a healthcare facility is performing a different function from conducting an individualized social-needs assessment or managing an ongoing social prescribing pathway.
Likewise, knowing local community organizations does not necessarily mean the worker has sufficient time, competence or authority to assess their suitability for different individuals.
A future Vietnamese model might involve collaboration between village health workers, designated navigators, healthcare professionals and social workers.
Whether such an arrangement would be appropriate depends on the functions required and the actual competence, authorization and capacity of those involved.
Why the relationship with commune health stations matters
Village health workers do not operate independently of Viet Nam's formal grassroots healthcare system.
Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BYT establishes their supporting relationship with commune health stations, including professional training, periodic meetings and reporting arrangements.[1]
This relationship is particularly relevant as Viet Nam continues to reorganize and strengthen healthcare services at the commune level.
Circular No. 43/2025/TT-BYT, effective January 1, 2026, provides guidance on the functions, responsibilities, authority and organizational structure of commune, ward and special-zone health stations.
The Circular was amended by Circular No. 53/2025/TT-BYT, with the relevant provisions consolidated in Document No. 06/VBHN-BYT dated February 6, 2026.[3]
The updated framework assigns commune health stations responsibilities across disease prevention, medical examination and treatment, community health management, maternal and child healthcare, care for older people and people with disabilities, and certain social assistance and social-work functions within the applicable legal framework.
These developments are relevant because some activities that might appear in a social prescribing pathway overlap with responsibilities already assigned to the formal healthcare and social-service system.
However, assigning a function to an organization does not mean that every person associated with that organization is authorized or equipped to perform it.
A commune health station may have designated personnel responsible for particular professional activities. Actual staffing and service capacity can also vary across localities.
A village health worker should not automatically be expected to undertake those same activities.
A report published by the World Health Organization in collaboration with Viet Nam's Ministry of Health in December 2025 examined the commune health system, including challenges and opportunities involving service delivery, financing and governance.[4]
The report provides useful context for strengthening primary health care. It does not establish a specific social prescribing model for village health workers.
Before introducing a new community-connected care arrangement, participating organizations would need to understand which functions are already being performed, which professional services are available and where residents experience genuine difficulties accessing support.
In some circumstances, a village health worker may only need to provide general information. More complex requests may be better handled by an appropriately qualified professional at a commune health station or another competent organization.
The arrangement should follow actual local needs rather than assuming that every community health interaction requires a new referral pathway.
Workforce capacity and financial support require careful consideration
Any proposal to involve village health workers in social prescribing should begin with an understanding of their current workload.
Their established duties cover health education, prevention, community monitoring, maternal and child health, selected basic care activities and coordination with commune health stations.
These responsibilities require time, professional knowledge and ongoing communication.
An additional community navigation function may initially appear modest. In practice, it could create more telephone calls, meetings, documentation, requests from families and questions about circumstances outside the worker's competence.
The cumulative effect matters, particularly where a worker already supports several community health activities.
There has also been an important regulatory development concerning financial support for this workforce.
Government Decree No. 192/2026/ND-CP, issued on May 30, 2026, and effective from July 15, 2026, establishes provisions for monthly financial support for village and residential-group health workers and village-based midwives.[6]
The Decree provides monthly support calculated at 0.5 or 0.7 times the statutory base salary, depending on the relevant location and conditions.
The 0.7 rate applies to specified locations, including villages with at least 350 households, villages in qualifying disadvantaged communes, and residential groups or neighborhoods with at least 500 households. The 0.5 rate applies to other covered locations.
Provincial authorities may determine specific support arrangements through the applicable local process, subject to the minimum levels prescribed by the Decree.
This development provides a financial support framework for personnel performing established community health functions.
However, monthly support under the Decree should not be interpreted as authorization or dedicated funding for additional social prescribing responsibilities.
If a proposed program requires substantial additional time, coordination or specialized competencies, those resource implications need to be considered separately.
International guidance offers useful principles.
WHO's 2018 guideline on community health worker programs emphasizes appropriate selection, education, management, supervision and integration within health systems.[7]
In December 2025, WHO published Integrating Community Health Workers into Health Systems: A Step-by-Step Policy Implementation Guide, addressing governance, financing, workforce design, implementation and evaluation.[8]
WHO also published its Global Curriculum Guide for Community Health Workers on December 31, 2025. The guide emphasizes that competencies depend on the responsibilities of community health workers and should be adapted to the health system and context in which they operate.[9]
These publications do not recommend that every community health worker should become a social prescribing navigator.
Their broader message is that workforce responsibilities should be matched with appropriate competence, management support and resources.
For Viet Nam, the presence of an established workforce should not, by itself, justify assigning additional functions.
Community connections should not interfere with clinical care
A person may be interested in a community activity while continuing to receive medical treatment.
For example, someone with a long-term condition may want to join a walking group or participate in a recreational program. The activity may offer opportunities for enjoyment and social connection, but its suitability can also depend on the person's health status, functional abilities and the demands of the activity.
Village health workers have certain healthcare responsibilities under Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BYT. These may include recognizing danger signs, providing initial care within their defined scope and helping residents access appropriate healthcare services.
Those responsibilities should remain distinct from any proposed non-clinical navigation function.
The worker's existing healthcare authority should neither be overlooked nor extended beyond its legal limits.
Someone presenting with symptoms suggesting an urgent medical problem needs appropriate medical attention, not simply information about a community activity.
A person seeking advice about changing prescribed medication should be directed to an appropriately qualified and authorized healthcare professional.
Similarly, a navigator should not independently determine that a particular physical activity is medically suitable when clinical assessment is required.
A community organization receiving participants through a healthcare-connected pathway should not be expected to monitor chronic diseases, adjust treatment or assume clinical responsibilities unless it is separately authorized and appropriately equipped to provide such services.
The relevant legal framework includes the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15, effective January 1, 2024, as subsequently amended and reflected in Consolidated Document No. 26/VBHN-VPQH dated February 26, 2026.[10]
Any additional functions must be considered alongside the legal requirements applicable to the individual worker and the organization involved.
Social prescribing may complement healthcare. It does not replace professional clinical assessment or change existing responsibility for medical treatment.
Professional social work must remain distinct
Another potential area of overlap concerns social-work services.
During community health activities, a village health worker may become aware that someone is experiencing difficulties involving family relationships, financial circumstances, access to public services or other social concerns.
Such information may be relevant to a person's health and well-being. However, it does not mean that the village health worker should independently assess or resolve every issue.
Some circumstances require assistance from competent public authorities, professional social workers or other specialized services.
Government Decree No. 110/2024/ND-CP establishes the framework for social work in Viet Nam, including provisions concerning professional practice and registration.[11]
Circular No. 29/2026/TT-BYT, effective August 25, 2026, further regulates social-work practice and professional knowledge updating within its defined scope.[12]
Circular No. 51/2024/TT-BYT addresses social-work activities in medical examination and treatment establishments.[13]
These regulations should not be interpreted as turning every community conversation into a regulated social-work activity.
At the same time, organizations cannot avoid applicable professional requirements simply by describing a service as care navigation or community support. The legal position depends on the actual activities performed.
Where a role involves professional social-work assessment, case management, counseling or other regulated functions, the relevant requirements must be determined and respected.
Under Article 47 of Decree No. 110/2024/ND-CP, from January 1, 2027, individuals practising social work within the scope of the Decree must hold a social-work practice registration certificate in accordance with its requirements.
A village health worker may appropriately identify a contact point for professional assistance or help someone understand where to seek support, consistent with their established responsibilities.
That does not independently authorize the worker to determine eligibility for social protection, manage complex family cases or provide specialized psychosocial interventions.
Professional and statutory responsibilities must remain with the relevant competent services.
Community familiarity also creates privacy responsibilities
Knowing residents personally may help village health workers communicate effectively, but it can also make professional boundaries more complicated.
In a small community, the same person may be a health worker, neighbor, relative or familiar local contact.
Residents may appreciate that familiarity while still wanting particular information to remain private.
Someone may be comfortable receiving information about a community group but prefer not to explain why they are interested. Another person may want to attend an activity without their relatives or neighbors being informed.
Even a simple introduction can reveal sensitive information.
For example, telling a community organizer that someone is being introduced because of a particular health condition may disclose information that the organizer does not need.
Viet Nam's Law on Personal Data Protection No. 91/2025/QH15 and Decree No. 356/2025/ND-CP, both effective January 1, 2026, establish requirements concerning the processing and protection of personal data.[14,15]
These requirements are relevant when organizations collect, store, access or share personal information as part of structured navigation arrangements.
The responsible parties must determine the lawful purpose and legal basis for processing, applicable consent and notification requirements, access controls and other necessary safeguards.
An ordinary community activity may require only limited contact information or details directly relevant to participation. It would not normally justify collecting a person's complete medical history.
Village health workers should not be expected to transfer information from existing health records into a new community program merely because the individual is already known to them.
Where structured information sharing is proposed, responsibilities should be established in advance and the processing must comply with applicable law.
Personal familiarity should strengthen respectful communication, not weaken confidentiality.
Community organizations must be willing partners
A village health worker may know that a local group meets regularly. That does not mean the group has agreed to participate in a healthcare-linked referral pathway.
Community activities vary considerably in their purpose, membership, resources and capacity.
Some are organized by volunteers. Others are operated by local associations or institutions with established responsibilities.
A group may have limited space, irregular funding or activities designed for a particular audience. Its organizers may not have the resources to provide individualized assistance to new participants.
Before a structured pathway routinely connects people to a community organization, the responsible parties should understand whether the activity is available, appropriate and whether its organizers are willing to accept the proposed arrangements.
This does not mean every informal community group needs to introduce healthcare-style procedures. The requirements should reflect what the group is actually expected to do.
If the arrangement involves only sharing publicly available contact information, little additional coordination may be needed.
If the organization is asked to receive structured introductions, provide participation updates or respond to concerns on behalf of a healthcare service, the responsibilities become more substantial.
Such expectations should be discussed and agreed upon rather than assumed.
Community organizations should also have the ability to decline responsibilities that exceed their resources or competence.
They should not become unpaid extensions of healthcare services simply because they are willing to support local residents.
The same principle applies to village health workers. Community cooperation should be based on appropriate roles, realistic expectations and adequate support.
What does the international evidence support?
Research on community health workers provides evidence about their contribution to primary health care and the conditions needed for effective programs.
WHO's 2018 guideline drew on systematic reviews and other evidence to develop recommendations concerning the design, management and support of community health worker programs.[7]
This evidence is relevant to workforce planning, health system integration, training and supervision.
However, findings concerning health education, disease prevention, basic care or community outreach cannot be treated as proof that assigning social prescribing responsibilities to those workers will improve outcomes.
Social prescribing introduces different processes, organizational relationships and expectations.
The available regional evidence on social prescribing is also varied.
A scoping review by Lwin and colleagues, published online on January 15, 2026, in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, examined 55 sources, including 42 peer-reviewed studies and 13 gray-literature sources.[16]
The authors identified considerable variation in social prescribing models, funding arrangements, populations served and implementation approaches.
Only one of the 42 peer-reviewed studies included in the review came from Viet Nam.
This finding reflects the review's search strategy, inclusion criteria and study period. It should not be interpreted as a complete account of all Vietnamese community-based healthcare initiatives or research conducted afterward.
The review highlights the importance of approaches adapted to local health systems and community resources.
It does not demonstrate that village health workers in Viet Nam can safely and effectively perform the full responsibilities of social prescribing link workers.
Nor does it establish that introducing such responsibilities would improve clinical outcomes, reduce healthcare use or generate savings.
Those questions require appropriate local evaluation.
The current evidence provides a stronger basis for examining feasibility, workforce capacity and implementation requirements than for making claims about the effectiveness of a new village health worker-led social prescribing model.
What could responsible collaboration look like?
A future model does not necessarily require every village health worker to become a navigator.
One possible arrangement would allow workers to remain within their established duties while providing reliable information about community opportunities when residents express an interest.
More structured navigation could be handled by another designated person or service with the necessary competence and organizational support.
The village health worker's contribution might be limited to explaining how to contact that service.
Another possibility would involve a commune health station working with willing community organizations to maintain accurate public information about available activities.
Village health workers could contribute appropriate observations about practical access difficulties, without disclosing unnecessary personal information or taking responsibility for services outside their professional scope.
The appropriate arrangement would depend on local needs, existing services and the decisions of the organizations and authorities responsible.
In some communities, informal information sharing may be sufficient. Elsewhere, structured navigation may be worth exploring if residents experience difficulties that existing services cannot adequately address.
A useful design principle would be to distinguish identifying relevant community opportunities, providing individualized assistance where needed and delivering professional or statutory services when required.
These functions may be connected, but they do not have to be performed by the same person.
The purpose should be to strengthen existing cooperation rather than create another workforce role without a clear reason.
Could a small pilot help answer the question?
A carefully limited pilot could help explore whether village health workers have an appropriate supporting role in community-connected care.
The starting point should be their current responsibilities and workload.
Discussions with commune health station managers, village health workers, residents and relevant community organizations could help identify practical gaps in access to non-clinical activities.
Some residents may already obtain reliable information through family, neighbors or local associations. If existing arrangements are working well, a new formal navigation pathway may add little value.
In other settings, people may be unaware of available activities, uncertain about eligibility or unsure whom to contact.
A modest pilot could begin by testing whether more accurate public information and a clear contact point make these opportunities easier to access.
There may be no need to introduce detailed social-needs screening forms or a new electronic referral platform at the outset.
If the pilot moves beyond general information sharing, participating organizations should first clarify who is responsible for each function, what professional competence is needed and how problems will be addressed.
The role of village health workers should be explicitly defined and consistent with applicable legal requirements.
Training should reflect what workers are actually expected to do.
Someone providing general information may need to know how to obtain verified activity details, communicate respectfully and avoid unnecessary disclosure of personal information.
A person providing individualized navigation may require additional skills in communication, assessment within an appropriate scope, coordination, safeguarding and documentation.
Those responsibilities should not be treated as equivalent.
A pilot should also consider the resources required for staff time, coordination, supervision and communication.
An initiative that appears inexpensive because it relies on an existing workforce may still generate substantial additional work.
Its sustainability cannot be assumed simply because no new job title has been created.
How should a pilot be evaluated?
Evaluation should begin with whether the proposed arrangement is useful, feasible and appropriate, rather than assuming that more referrals represent success.
One important question is whether village health workers can continue performing their established healthcare responsibilities without disruption.
Did the additional activity require more time than expected? Were instructions clear? Did workers encounter requests outside their competence? Did they have access to appropriate support when concerns arose?
The experiences of community organizations would also matter.
Were they able to provide accurate information? Did they understand the nature of the proposed connections? Were they asked to undertake responsibilities beyond what they had agreed to?
From the residents' perspective, evaluation should consider whether they received useful information, understood their options and felt free to decide whether to participate.
It would also be important to understand whether people who wanted to join an activity could make contact successfully and whether the activity was suitable for their circumstances.
Someone who declines an opportunity after understanding the options should not automatically be considered an unsuccessful case. Informed choice is important even when it does not lead to participation.
Safety and privacy should also be examined. Were personal details shared appropriately? Did workers remain within their professional scope? Were people who needed clinical or specialist assistance directed to suitable services?
The financial and organizational implications deserve attention as well.
A pilot may show that a limited information-sharing arrangement is acceptable and workable. It may identify difficulties that need to be addressed before further development.
It would not, by itself, demonstrate that social prescribing delivered through village health workers improves health outcomes, reduces hospital admissions or saves healthcare costs.
Those conclusions would require appropriate research methods and suitable comparison data.
For an early initiative, demonstrating that a clearly defined function can be delivered safely without weakening existing services may be a more realistic and useful outcome.
Protecting the workforce is part of protecting the community
Village health workers can be valuable because they are connected to both local communities and the formal grassroots healthcare system.
That position also creates expectations.
Residents may approach them with questions beyond their assigned duties. Healthcare organizations may rely on them to communicate with households. Community programs may ask them to help identify participants, distribute information or organize activities.
Each request may seem small. Together, they can create a growing workload without corresponding time, resources or professional support.
A responsible social prescribing initiative should avoid treating existing community health workers as an inexpensive solution to service gaps elsewhere in the system.
WHO's guidance on community health worker integration emphasizes the importance of governance, financing, workforce responsibilities and sustainable health system support.[8]
For Viet Nam, these considerations are especially relevant when any new function is proposed alongside existing regulatory duties and support arrangements.
Village health workers may need to decline requests outside their competence, authorization or available capacity.
That should be regarded as appropriate professional practice rather than a lack of commitment to their communities.
Clear boundaries help protect workers from being expected to make decisions for which they have not been prepared.
They also protect residents from receiving support that appears official or professional but lacks the necessary safeguards.
Workforce sustainability should therefore be considered part of service quality, not merely an administrative concern.
Building on existing strengths without creating unnecessary responsibilities
Viet Nam's village health workers are part of an established grassroots healthcare system.
They already contribute to prevention, health education, community outreach and selected care activities within their defined responsibilities. That contribution deserves recognition.
Social prescribing may offer opportunities to improve connections between healthcare and non-clinical community resources. However, it should not begin with the assumption that existing health workers need a new title or an expanded set of duties.
Their local knowledge may help people learn about available activities and may provide useful insights into practical barriers to participation.
Whether that knowledge should become part of a structured navigation pathway is a separate question.
The answer depends on the needs of residents, the availability of suitable community resources, the responsibilities of commune health stations and the competence and capacity of everyone involved.
Sometimes a useful connection may be as simple as sharing reliable information with someone who wants it. Other circumstances may require a designated navigator, healthcare professional, social worker or competent public service.
Recognizing these differences is more important than asking one workforce to perform every function.
For Viet Nam, the opportunity is to explore how village health workers could contribute where their existing responsibilities and local circumstances make that contribution appropriate, while respecting the boundaries established by law and professional practice.
The question is not whether village health workers should become social prescribing link workers.
It is whether their established relationship with communities could support better access to appropriate non-clinical opportunities without adding unsuitable duties, duplicating existing services or weakening the healthcare work they already perform.
Where that balance can be achieved, community-connected care may benefit from local knowledge and relationships that already exist.
Where it cannot, creating another responsibility for village health workers would not necessarily make the system more connected, accessible or effective.
References
Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. (2023). Circular No. 27/2023/TT-BYT on Standards, Functions, Duties, Scope of Medical Examination and Treatment Activities, and Professional Training for Village Health Workers and Village-Based Midwives. Issued December 29, 2023; effective January 1, 2024.
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (2022). A Toolkit on How to Implement Social Prescribing.
Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. (2025–2026). Circular No. 43/2025/TT-BYT on the Functions, Duties, Authority and Organizational Structure of Commune, Ward and Special-Zone Health Stations; Circular No. 53/2025/TT-BYT Amending Circular No. 43/2025/TT-BYT; and Consolidated Document No. 06/VBHN-BYT dated February 6, 2026.
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (2025). Primary Health Care in Viet Nam: A Review of the Commune Health System. Published December 1, 2025.
NHS England. (2026). Workforce Development Framework for Social Prescribing Link Workers. Version 2, updated July 2026; published August 13, 2026.
Government of Viet Nam. (2026). Decree No. 192/2026/ND-CP on Special Allowances in the Health Sector and Monthly Support for Village and Residential-Group Health Workers and Village-Based Midwives. Issued May 30, 2026; effective July 15, 2026.
World Health Organization. (2018). WHO Guideline on Health Policy and System Support to Optimize Community Health Worker Programmes.
World Health Organization. (2025). Integrating Community Health Workers into Health Systems: A Step-by-Step Policy Implementation Guide. Published December 18, 2025.
World Health Organization. (2025). Global Curriculum Guide for Community Health Workers. Published December 31, 2025.
National Assembly of Viet Nam. (2023). Law No. 15/2023/QH15 on Medical Examination and Treatment. Effective January 1, 2024. See also Office of the National Assembly. (2026). Consolidated Document No. 26/VBHN-VPQH on the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, dated February 26, 2026.
Government of Viet Nam. (2024). Decree No. 110/2024/ND-CP on Social Work. Effective October 15, 2024.
Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. (2026). Circular No. 29/2026/TT-BYT on Social-Work Practice and Professional Knowledge Updating. Effective August 25, 2026.
Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. (2024). Circular No. 51/2024/TT-BYT on the Implementation of Social-Work Activities in Medical Examination and Treatment Establishments. Effective March 1, 2025.
National Assembly of Viet Nam. (2025). Law No. 91/2025/QH15 on Personal Data Protection. Effective January 1, 2026.
Government of Viet Nam. (2025). Decree No. 356/2025/ND-CP Detailing Certain Articles and Measures for Implementation of the Law on Personal Data Protection. Effective January 1, 2026.
Lwin, K. S., Wong, M. S. J., Tan, M. H., et al. (2026). Organization and implementation of social prescribing in the Western Pacific Region: A scoping review. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 67, 101714. Published online January 15, 2026.
Article Information
Primary Category: Implementation & Practice
Secondary Category: Viet Nam Context
Evidence and regulatory context reviewed: November 1, 2026
Publisher: Social Prescribing Vietnam (SPVN)
Disclaimer
This article is provided for educational, research and general informational purposes only. It does not constitute individualized medical, mental health, professional social-work, healthcare workforce, regulatory or legal advice, clinical guidance, accreditation criteria or official government policy.
The examples involving village health workers and community connections are illustrative. They do not indicate that any particular village health worker, commune health station or community organization in Viet Nam currently operates a formal social prescribing pathway.
Village health workers and village-based midwives have specific functions, responsibilities, training requirements and professional scopes under Vietnamese law. Their participation in existing healthcare activities should not be confused with authorization to provide additional social prescribing, professional social-work or other regulated services.
Social prescribing and community care navigation may complement appropriate healthcare and community resources, but they do not replace medical examination and treatment, emergency care, professional social work, public administrative services or other functions reserved for competent organizations and qualified professionals.
Organizations considering the involvement of village health workers in structured community navigation should independently assess the applicable Vietnamese legal requirements, existing duties, professional competence, necessary authorization, staffing, supervision, financing, data protection, safeguarding and organizational accountability before implementation.
International guidance concerning community health workers and social prescribing is presented for comparative learning. It does not establish that Viet Nam has formally adopted the English social prescribing link-worker model or that village health workers are automatically authorized to undertake its functions.
Social Prescribing Vietnam (SPVN) is an education, research, development, implementation-support and collaboration platform. Publication of this article does not indicate that SPVN directly employs, appoints or supervises village health workers; operates commune health services; or provides individual care navigation, clinical services, professional social-work services or referrals.
References to government institutions, international organizations, legislation and published research are provided for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement, authorization, accreditation, formal affiliation or an established service partnership.