Medical Mission to Vietnam: Unraveling The Stigma with Abigail, Ming, Mia, and Berrie

What would you do if you live in a rural area where health emergency services or basic healthcare are unavailable or difficult to access? What would you do if you can’t afford to pay your hospital bills or get the right medical attention that you need? These are real challenges of people living in developing countries where inaccessible health care is a major issue.

In developing countries like Vietnam, where Dr. Trinh and his student volunteers conducted a medical mission, the general population has limited access to proper healthcare and education which is unfortunately the cause of the growing stigma on leprosy and other untreatable diseases. 

Leprosy, a disease that has long been treated and nearly eradicated in developed countries, is still plaguing countries like Vietnam. They build leprosy colonies and isolate patients. This results in people with leprosy living their lives not knowing their condition can be cured or managed. 

Medical missions like this aim to give access to this knowledge and healthcare to break the stigma gripping poor countries and help improve health and living conditions of those in need.

Listen and learn more about their trip to Vietnam from our guests, Abigail, Ming, Mia, and Berrie to help break the stigma and impart proper education on this medical condition.

Memorable Quotes:

Honestly, we were so just involved with what we were doing and being with these people who were essentially strangers and really living with them for ten days and doing all of this kind of charity work and volunteer work was a new experience that you don't get every single day. And it was great. It was good to kind of detox away from that stuff and live in the present. - MiaThe exact reason why we go specifically to these leprosy colonies is that we believe that there is a human value from just being who you are. – Dr. TrinhThe life experience of not having, of not knowing what you're going to do tomorrow, of having no physical connection with anybody and just feeling like you're a street kid you're on your own. What happens in this country, most of the kids that age out of foster care go nowhere, which is why so many of them turn to drugs and alcohol.  – Paul Roberts

Resources Mentioned: 

Tongue Out

About the Host:

Dung Trinh, MD is the Chief Medical Officer of Irvine Clinical Research, a medical missionary with TongueOut Medical Missions, and holds leadership positions with multiple health care organizations in Orange County. He is a keynote speaker, best-selling author, and Host of “Health Talks with Dr. Trinh” which can be heard weekly on OC Talk Radio. 

Connect with Dr. Trinh

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