Driven by health care reform and the advent of the private sector in the late 1980s, and by commitments made to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam is faced with a need to increase the regulation and training of its health care professionals. Previously, a diploma from an accredited health professional school was sufficient to practice for a lifetime. Legislation has recently been passed that will institute a licensing system, will require continuing medical education (CME) to maintain the license, and will probably place a large burden on the health professional schools and training institutes to provide CME. Supported by international nongovernmental organizations and foreign universities, the medical universities in Vietnam are responding and are preparing for their new and expanded role.

The objectives of this study are to determine whether Norplant would be an acceptable contraceptive method for Cambodian women, given its technology and the socio-cultural context, and whether it can be delivered by a private sector clinic with good quality care. This is a prospective cohort study of the first 966 acceptors. It was found the one-year continuation rate was 90.5%, there were no pregnancies and client satisfaction was high. In general, Norplant was delivered with high quality of care. Findings indicate that Norplant suits the contraceptive needs of many Cambodian women and is appropriate for their socio-cultural context. Norplant can be introduced, with high quality care, in a private clinic in a developing country.

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to the ®eld of evaluation. It demonstrates the diversity and richness of the ®eld of evaluation, with some very useful practical information. , 1994;Morley and Lovel, 1986). Dr Lankester, in this book, is one of the ®rst doctors to write such an extensive manual on CBHC. The book draws mainly on extensive hands-on experience in community health projects implemented in developing country settings, including the Himalayan villages, India, Nepal and Zambia. The book endorses the philosophy that sees community members as partners in a locally based health programme where they contribute to, as well as receive, health care: in this sense, they are much more than consumers of services provided by doctors. Furthermore, Lankester adopts the community-centred model of health care in opposition to the medical care model (captured by the slogan: PPNN: A Pill for Every Problem and a Needle for every Need). Partnership and community ownership are therefore, key words in that regard, but there is a second driving force behind this work: Lankester lays a strong emphasis on evidence-based best practice, as exempli®ed by a number of initiatives from the WHO:`safe motherhood', integrated 372 BOOK REVIEWS Ton van der Velden