Introduction
The goal of this research is to enhance and strengthen
the health of the rural community population to prevent the spread
of infectious disease and to improve the quality of life of the
civil population who live in rural areas. The investigation employs
participatory action research (PAR) which examines the methods that
the communities and villagers in the former H5N1 pandemic area in
western rural Thailand are using to prevent the widespread of AH1N1
and H5N1 between August and October 2009. The research grant is
from the National Research Council of Thailand via Mahidol University.
Data and Method
The base line data files are from the five year longitudinal
study of the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS)
between 2000 and 2004. From that data set, the research team examined
village characteristics and some risk behaviors of communities and
villagers that may be prone to contact AH1N1 and H5N1. They are:
(1) the villages that used to be the H5N1 pandemic area and had
some deaths due to this disease. (2) Location of village setting
is next to the main road which connected to poultry industry and
always has a flea market. (3) The village and near- by community
have a high proportion of households raising roosters and domestic
chickens for market and household consumption. And (4) some of the
villages are located in remote areas e.g. on hilly areas with dense
forest which is far away from town, but always have a mobile market
that carries food and some products from town to community by motorcycles
and pick up truck. The process is similar to flea market. As a result,
sometimes there are congested situations in the community that may
induce the spread of AH1N1. Therefore, there are 15 villages involved
in this study. Further, to understand the village and community
social and geographical context, the study employs qualitative methods
under grounded theory approach such as participation and observation,
focus group discussions, small group discussions, and in-depth interviews
as gathering data procedure. Then all researchers work closely with
villagers side by side to develop appropriate methods that enable
adjustment and adaptation to their social context i.e. culture norm
and belief, and villages’ physical geography.
Preliminary results
Community participation of implementation program
and some acting activities are undergoing. As a result, findings
of this study will be reported within this December. Attached are
photos of some activities in some villages.
Key words:
Rural Thailand Infectious disease AH1N1 H5N1 Avian Influenza
Principle Investigator:
Yothin Sawangdee Ph.D (Sociology)
E-mail: Prysw@Mahidol.ac.th Investigators:
- Ladda Manode
- Chaiyapoom Chompu
- Piyawat Katewongsa
- Sutida Chuanwan
- Natchananporn Meesuwan
- Chutima Yousomboon
- Jeerawat Saithong
- Sawake Nootjai
Organization:
Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University |