A Development of Healthy Promotion Model by E-SAN Folk Healer's Wisdom

Abstract

The purposes of research were 1) to study the knowledge used by local folk healers, thecondition of healing and services, the acceptance of the methods used by the folk healers in LoeiProvince, and 2) to develop the model for the promotion of the community health with the herbalwisdom of I-san folk healer participated by the related stakeholders.Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research were applied, the quantitativeresearch was used in the survey, and the quantitative research was used in an in-depth interview,the participatory observation, and focus group discussion. The target groups in this study consistedof the registered folk healers from 14 districts of Loei who still perform the healing, the localpeople who get the services or used to get the services from the folk healers, the senior people inthe areas, and Thai traditional medicine scholars. The findings were as follows.1. All folk healers treat the illness according to the systems of human body. The healingcondition in which the folk healers used was related to the belief of local culture that the folkhealers believe, including (1)the belief in the causes of illness, (2) 4 elements and 5 aggregates oflife, (3) astrological belief on fate, (4) astrological belief on the causes of illness, (5) the belief onthe 4 elements of life, (6) the belief in the rite of Thai traditional medicine, (7) the belief and therite on the herbs, and (8) the belief on the village herbs and the elimination of illness.The acceptance on the healing methods of the folk healers in Loei indicated that thepatients and the relatives are satisfied with the results of healing, because the symptoms of illnesswere disappeared. Some people were back to normal, however, everyone can go back to live lifeand to work normally as before.2. The results from the development of the healthy promotion model in communitywith the knowledge on herbs of the folk healers using participatory action of related thestakeholders in the community were in 3 models; Model 1: The community health promotionalactivities consisted of (1) the activities related to public health to promote the local students’learning, (2) herbs garden project in schools, (3) the first aids cure with the herbs in schools insteadof using medicine, Model 2: the creation of learning materials of the local wisdom of the folkhealers by making books and CDs titled Herbs in Loei and I-san Herbs Recipe, and Model 3: TheDissemination of folk healing knowledge to peopleThe evaluation of the three models was done by the observation of the activityparticipation, interview on the satisfaction, and the usefulness of the participation in