Districts In Thailand Research Articles

Forecasting Model for Pneumonia Cases in 13 Health Districts in Thailand

Forecasting Model for Pneumonia Cases in 13 Health Districts in Thailand

Health and safety in hair salons during the Covid-19 situation: A cross-sectional study in a semi-urban district in Thailand

ObjectiveSince the COVID-19 crisis in Thailand, the need for salons to have impeccable hygiene and client-hairdresser monitoring heightened. Due to scarce research on the COVID-19 preventive measures taken by hairdressing salons in semi-urban locations in Thailand during the pandemic, this study aimed to evaluate the standard of hair salons in preventing COVID-19 disease transmission in a semi-urban district in the northeastern region of Thailand. MethodsUsing the purposive sampling method, data were collected from 22 Hair Salons. Data collection tools were a self-completed questionnaire designed into different sections to obtain information on demographics, work conditions and environmental health standard compliance according to guidelines set by the Thai Ministry of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive analyses were done, such as mean, standard deviation, and frequency. ResultsThe mean age of our respondents was 41.82 (±8.18) years, more than half were females (63.6 %). Most of the criteria assessing beauty salon standards according to Department of Health guidelines were passed, with all of the salons passing the lighting evaluation and mostly passing the heat and electric shock protection system evaluation, but the implementation of guidelines for preventive measures during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to Department of Health guidelines, suggested non-compliance by most hair Salons. ConclusionBeauty salons should implement and strictly adhere to guidelines according to Department of Health standards. Training or education sessions regarding the prevention of infectious disease transmission should be conducted, as hairdressers should be motivated to comply with health and environmental health standards for both salon staff and clients' confidence. Further research should also be done on the behaviours associated with health risks in beauty salons at the national or border-nation level.

Temporary safety zone site selection during haze Pollution: An integrated approach with FAHP and FTOPSIS

Haze pollution poses significant health risks, driving organizations to mitigate its impact. Temporary safety zones are essential for protecting people during haze pollution incidents. However, current strategies may fall short in meeting demand under certain conditions. To address this challenge and aid decision-making, we propose a methodology for selecting temporary safety zone sites during haze pollution. The methodology integrates the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), the Fuzzy Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS), and a fuzzy mathematical model. Criteria for site selection are established through literature reviews and expert interviews and the FAHP assigns weights to each criterion. FTOPSIS evaluates candidate locations based on the criteria, generating scores for each site. Finally, a multi-objective fuzzy mathematical model identifies optimal locations, considering budget limits, capacity restrictions, and other constraints. We validated the approach in the Sarapee district in Thailand. The results demonstrate the model’s ability to generate optimal solutions, identifying suitable locations for temporary safety zones during haze pollution crises. This research is significant for decision-makers and governments who need to strategically place temporary safety zones and safeguard communities from the hazards of haze pollution. By adopting this integrated approach, organizations can enhance their response to haze pollution incidents, protecting public health and well-being.

High Seroprevalence of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Infection among the Dog Population in Thailand.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). In Thailand, three human cases of SFTS were reported in 2019 and 2020, but there was no report of SFTSV infection in animals. Our study revealed that at least 16.6% of dogs in Thailand were seropositive for SFTSV infection, and the SFTSV-positive dogs were found in several districts in Thailand. Additionally, more than 70% of the serum samples collected at one shelter possessed virus-neutralization antibodies against SFTSV and the near-complete genome sequences of the SFTSV were determined from one dog in the shelter. The dog SFTSV was genetically close to those from Thailand and Chinese patients and belonged to genotype J3. These results indicated that SFTSV has already spread among animals in Thailand.

EPH52 Survey of Situation and Severity of Public Problems Affecting Health in an Industrial District in Thailand

EPH52 Survey of Situation and Severity of Public Problems Affecting Health in an Industrial District in Thailand

Linear tourism, multiculturalism, creative district: The case of Charoenkrung creative district in Thailand

The paper examines the relationship between tourism and the creative district, a connection often assumed but undertheorized. While conventional wisdom appears to be that creative districts promote tourism, this paper shows that the reverse can also be true. In the case of the Charoenkrung Creative District in Bangkok, tourism has been deployed as a top-down initiative to popularize and publicize the district. This paper examines how walking tours—a particular kind of linear tourism—are used to weave disparate sites into a singular narrative that frames Charoenkrung as a multicultural district with much creative potential. In particular, it sheds light on the role of the tour guide in charting this entangled narrative of multiculturalism and creativity.

The impact of the three-level collaboration exercise on collaboration and leadership during scenario-based hospital evacuation exercises using flexible surge capacity concept: a mixed method cross-sectional study

BackgroundHospitals play a crucial role in responding to disasters and public health emergencies. However, they are also vulnerable to threats such as fire or flooding and can fail to respond or evacuate adequately due to unpreparedness and lack of evacuation measures. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has emphasised the importance of partnerships and capacity building in disaster response. One effective way to improve and develop disaster response is through exercises that focus on collaboration and leadership. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of using the 3-level collaboration (3LC) exercise in developing collaboration and leadership in districts in Thailand, using the concept of flexible surge capacity (FSC) and its collaborative tool during a hospital evacuation simulation.MethodsA mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted with 40 participants recruited from disaster-response organisations and communities. The data from several scenario-based simulations were collected according to the collaborative elements (Command and control, Safety, Communication, Assessment, Triage, Treatment, Transport), in the disaster response education, “Major Incident Medical Management and Support” using self-evaluation survey pre- and post-exercises, and direct observation.ResultsThe 3LC exercise effectively facilitated participants to gain a mutual understanding of collaboration, leadership, and individual and organisational flexibility. The exercise also identified gaps in communication and the utilisation of available resources. Additionally, the importance of early community engagement was highlighted to build up a flexible surge capacity during hospital evacuation preparedness.Conclusionsthe 3LC exercise is valuable for improving leadership skills and multiagency collaboration by incorporating the collaborative factors of Flexible Surge Capacity concept in hospital evacuation preparedness.

Health workers' capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior to prevent and control COVID-19 in a high-risk district in Thailand.

Village health volunteers have been an important group who plays the role in prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic situations at primary care units, Thailand. The objective of this cross-sectional analytic study was to assess the level and analyze the association between personal information, capability, opportunities, motivations, and behaviors to prevent and control COVID-19 among Village healthy volunteers in a high risk district, Southern Thailand. G*power program was used to calculate the sample size of 145 VHVs recruited for this study. Data collection was done using a well-structured questionnaire with 5-point Likert scale for capability, opportunities, motivations, and behaviors component, and multi-stage sampling of 18 sub-district health promoting hospitals was carried out. Data analysis was done using descriptive, Chi-square and Fisher Exact test. Majority (89.7%) of the VHVs were female, and 62.8% were 28-59 years old. More than half, 55.9% (81) have been VHVs for 11-36 years. Generally, higher capacity was found among 59.3% (86) of the VHVs, low opportunity level among 81.4% (118), high motivation among 53.8% (78) and a good behavior towards the prevention and control of COVID-19 among 72.4% (105). The VHVs' age and duration of practicing were significantly (P< 0.01 and P < 0.05 respectively) associated with COVID-19 prevention behavior (x2 =6.894 and 5.255 respectively). Likewise, there are significant association between capacity (p ≤ 0.001 and x2 = 31.014), opportunity (p≤ 0.05 and x2 = 9.473), motivation (p ≤ 0.001 and x2 = 0.0001) and VHVs' behaviour to prevent and control COVID-19. HVHs' opportunity is very low in the study area and it negatively affects good behavior for the prevention and control of COVID-19. All stakeholders in the district can use the association among the capability, opportunity, motivation and behavioral model to develop practice guideline and set policy for preventing COVID-19 in the community.

Analysis of Epidemiological and Economic Impact of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreaks in Four District Areas in Thailand.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is one of the most important infectious animal diseases impacting livestock production in Thailand. Despite a national vaccination program, FMD outbreaks are reported every year. We studied the epidemiological impacts of FMD outbreaks in four districts of Thailand between 2015 and 2016. Epidemiological data were collected from 193 FMD-affected dairy farms, 55 FMD-affected beef farms, and 25 FMD-affected pig farms. A significant difference in morbidity rates were observed between the dairy farms in the different areas, which could be explained by the differences in FMD outbreak management in each area. The morbidity rates in dairy and beef cattle also significantly differed between each animal age category, with the lowest morbidity rate observed in calves. Remarkably, vaccination was not significantly associated with the morbidity rate. In addition, the economic impact of FMD was calculated for 60 dairy farms in Muak Lek district. The economic losses were determined as the sum of milk production loss, mortality loss, additional labor costs, and veterinary service and medical costs, which averaged 56 USD per animal on the farm (ranging from 2 to 377 USD). Milk loss had the largest economic impact, although it varied substantially between farms. The farm size and outbreak duration were significantly associated with the total economic losses per farm. These results affirm the substantial epidemiological and economic impact of FMD on farms in Thailand, emphasizing the importance of FMD control.

Designing and Evaluating Robust Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction: An Illistration of Nong Sua District in Thailand

Designing and Evaluating Robust Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction: An Illistration of Nong Sua District in Thailand

Interaction Rituals and Sexual Commerce in Thailand’s Erotic Bars

This article explores bar prostitution as a distinct sexual arena. Drawing on fieldwork in six red-light districts in Thailand, the article identifies key structural and interactional features of the bars located in these areas. The analysis draws on an “interaction rituals” framework to elucidate scripted encounters between workers and customers, successive ritual chains, and the way departures or “broken chains” help to confirm the existence and vitality of normative chains. I argue, further, that the bars are organized around a distinctive moral economy—a courting-and-dating model—that allows sex workers and their clients to simultaneously downplay their involvement in prostitution and form affective ties with one another. Due to this framing, bar prostitution can be distinguished from most other types of prostitution, where opportunities for destigmatization are either minimal or nonexistent.

From village health volunteers to paid care givers: the optimal mix for a multidisciplinary home health care workforce in rural Thailand

BackgroundThailand is a rapidly aging society, which places high demand on home health care services for the elderly. The shortage of health care workforce in rural areas is a crucial obstacle to the delivery of adequate home health care services. The appropriate skill-mix between multidisciplinary health team and care givers (CGs) is an attractive solution for improving home health care services in rural Thailand. This study assessed the potential of trained CGs to provide home health care services and projected what the optimal mix for a multidisciplinary home health care team in rural Thailand would be in 2030.MethodsEleven pilot districts in Thailand were recruited for the study. Secondary data were collected along with surveys of home health care providers. A total of 130 care managers (nurses) and 351 care givers (CG) were recruited for the survey. Workload, skill-mix potential, and acceptance of care givers were assessed in the surveys. The results from secondary data and the survey were used to project the health workforce requirements in 2030.ResultsIt is projected that in 2030 the number of elderly living in rural areas will be 7,156,700 (27% of the projected rural population). Of this, 20.3% will be home-bound, 1.1% will be bed-ridden and 1.6% will need rehabilitation. The main members of the multidisciplinary health workforce involved in home health care were nurses, doctors, and physiotherapists. The home health care services that were provided by the multidisciplinary health workforce included patient assessment, development of a care plan and case conference, home visits, and teaching and supervision of CGs. The CGs were village health volunteers trained to carry out regular home visits to patients. The CGs provided assistance with the activities of daily living, basic health services, moral support to patients and relatives, and surveillance of the home environment during home visits. CGs were well accepted by both the health professionals and the patients. Projections showed that 16,094 nurses, 1,542 doctors, 1,022 physiotherapists and 50,148 CGs will be required in 2030 to meet the needs of the dependent elderly for home health care in rural Thailand.ConclusionWith the increased need for home health care services in the future, appropriate team work between the members of the multidisciplinary health team and the CGs in the community is the appropriate solution for likely shortages of health professional workforce.

Factors of trans-boundary tourism sustainable development in dynamics of South-East Asia regionalization (the case of Thailand- Laos - China tourism cluster)

One of the most notable tourism occurring in the global travel industry today is the growing of trans-boundary tourism especially in context of ASEAN countries. Thailand in particularly, has faced with the dramatically growth of tourist numbers across the border area of R3A (Thailand, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Southern Republic of China) in addition to immerging negative impacts to the destinations and their local communities. To maximize benefits from the situation, this study aims to investigate the potential and readiness of trans-boundary tourism system and types of tourism that promoting tourism linkage with-in the travelling route of R3A. Four case studies were investigated including Chiang Khong district in Thailand, Luang Namtha in Laos PDR, Xishuangbanna and Kunming in the Southern Republic of China.

MHealth Technology Translation in a Limited Resources Community-Process, Challenges, and Lessons Learned From a Limited Resources Community of Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.

This report aims to provide practical advice about the implementation of a public health monitoring system using both geographic information system technology and mobile health, a term used for healthcare delivery via mobile devices. application amongst household residents and community stakeholders in the limited resource community. A public health monitoring system was implemented in a semi-rural district in Thailand. The challenges encountered during implementation were documented qualitatively in a series of monthly focus group discussions, several community hearings, and many targeted interviews. In addition, lessons learned from the expansion of the program to 75 other districts throughout Thailand were also considered. All challenges proved solvable yielding several key pieces of advice for future project implementation teams. Specifically, communication between team members, anticipating technological challenges, and involvement of community members are critical. The problems encountered in our project were mainly related to the capabilities of the data collectors and technical issues of mobile devices, internet coverage, and the GIS application itself. During the implementation phase, progressive changes needed to be made to the system promptly, in parallel with community team building in order to get the highest public health impact.

Factors in Controlling the Successful Peer Teaching Method in Higher Education

This educational research paper was conducted by using questionnaires to collect the essential student survey data. The source of the study was a chosen mid-sized English for Everyday Use subject of 60 students in a public university under the International College of Rajamangala University Krungthep (ICUTK) in the capital city, Bangkok district in Thailand with the time frame from June to October 2019.The research employed multiple regression equation models by Minitab version 18 to study the structural relationships on satisfactions of peer teaching methodology, meaning that students were required to teach their peers instead of teachers in classroom. The selected variables were gender, GPA, age and attendance of the students. A major contribution of this education research was its significant direct relationship which mediated the method of teacher and student learning by testing the peer teaching methodology in classroom compared to the traditional classroom. Clear descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviations were provided from the calculation and multiple regressions analysis shows the coefficients, t-stats, errors and significant values of each selected variables. Moreover, the calculation model for those variables was formed for the future prediction for the related educators. The results indicated the importance of peer teaching method in class room for student learning supporting by the highly satisfied scores have impact on all variables included in this research.

Start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism reveals genetic diversity of Manilkara in Thailand

Abstract. Vanijajiva O. 2020. Start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism reveals genetic diversity of Manilkara in Thailand. Biodiversitas 21: 666-673. Manilkara consists of four species, namely, Manilkara hexandra, M. kauki, M. littoralis, and M. zapota in Thailand. Particularly, M. zapota (sapodilla), commonly known as Lamut in Thailand, is one of commercially notable edible fruits continues to be a highly valued tree and the fruits are a source of food and income. The objective of this research was to determine the diversity and relationship of Manilkara accessions derived from districts in Thailand based on DNA profiles. Genetic diversity and relationship of all accessions were investigated using Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) marker analysis. Of 30 SCoT primers screened, 27 SCoT primers were identified to be polymorphism. A total of 176 DNA bands with size varied from 120 bp to 1200 bp were amplified, and 101 (57.38%) of them were polymorphic. Based on similarity coefficients, total of 36 accessions were clustered into two groups. The cluster of polymorphism generated by SCoT was associated with their locality and morphological characters. Therefore, the present data provide high-valued information for the management of germplasm, genetic improvement, and conservation of the genetic resources of Manilkara accessions.

Does Bangkok have a central role in the dengue dynamics of Thailand?

BackgroundBangkok plays a central role in the commerce of Thailand. This study aimed to characterize the district-level spatial-temporal patterns of dengue in Thailand and explore if a dengue peak in Bangkok led the peaks of dengue in other Thai provinces.MethodsMonthly dengue data at district level in Thailand from January 2004 to December 2017 were obtained and used to assess the spatial and seasonal patterns of dengue in Thailand. As our seasonal decomposition and cross-correlation analyses showed that dengue in Bangkok peaked in November, which was a few months after the dengue peak in most other provinces, we used a time-series generalized linear model to explore if there was another province in which the dengue case number was most predictive of dengue case numbers in other Thai provinces.ResultsThe highest district-level annual dengue incidence rates (per 10,000) in the three time periods (i.e. 2004–2008, 2009–2013 and 2014–2017) were 58.08 (Samphanthawong), 85.93 (Mueang Krabi), and 66.60 (Mae Sariang), respectively. Dengue incidence rates in the western part of Northern Thailand, southern part of Central Thailand, southern part of Eastern Thailand, and Southern Thailand were higher than in other regions. Dengue in most districts of Thailand peaked in June, July or August, but dengue peaks in all districts of Bangkok occurred in November. The number of dengue cases in Nakhon Ratchasima was most predictive of the number of dengue cases in other provinces in Thailand by a one-month lag.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the dengue peak in Bangkok did not lead the peaks of dengue in other Thai provinces. Future research exploring how changes in socio-ecological factors (e.g. road network and climate factors) in Nakhon Ratchasima have affected the transmission of dengue in Thailand might shed some new light on the prevention and control of dengue.

Estimating seasonal fragrant rice production in Thailand using a spatial crop modelling and weather forecasting approach

AbstractFragrant rice is an important export commodity of Thailand and obtaining seasonal production estimates well in advance is important for marketing and stock management. Rice4cast is a software platform that has been developed to forecast rice yield several months prior to harvesting; it links a rice model with a Minimum Data Set (MDS) and Weather Research Forecast (WRF) data. The current study aimed to parameterize and evaluate the model and to demonstrate the use of the Rice4cast platform in forecasting seasonal KDML 105 rice yield and production with local data set. The study area encompassed 77 districts in Thailand, covering 0.94 of the total area of KDML 105 in the country. Minimum Data Sets for the 2013–2015 growing seasons were used for model parameterization and evaluation. The annual statistics from the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) were used as a reference basis and planted areas from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) was used for production estimation. Model evaluation showed good to fairly good agreement between the predicted and reported OAE yield. Production forecasts, however, over-estimated the OAE values considerably, primarily because of the use of GISTDA planted areas that were larger than the harvested areas in the production estimates. Adjustment of the planted areas to account for damaged areas need to be explored further. Nevertheless, the results demonstrated the capability of yield predictions with the Rice4cast, making it a valuable tool for in-season estimates for fragrant rice yield and production.

Bayesian spatiotemporal analysis of malaria infection along an international border: Hlaingbwe Township in Myanmar and Tha-Song-Yang District in Thailand

BackgroundOne challenge in moving towards malaria elimination is cross-border malaria infection. The implemented measures to prevent and control malaria re-introduction across the demarcation line between two countries require intensive analyses and interpretation of data from both sides, particularly in border areas, to make correct and timely decisions. Reliable maps of projected malaria distribution can help to direct intervention strategies. In this study, a Bayesian spatiotemporal analytic model was proposed for analysing and generating aggregated malaria risk maps based on the exceedance probability of malaria infection in the township-district adjacent to the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Data of individual malaria cases in Hlaingbwe Township and Tha-Song-Yang District during 2016 were extracted from routine malaria surveillance databases. Bayesian zero-inflated Poisson model was developed to identify spatial and temporal distributions and associations between malaria infections and risk factors. Maps of the descriptive statistics and posterior distribution of predicted malaria infections were also developed.ResultsA similar seasonal pattern of malaria was observed in both Hlaingbwe Township and Tha-Song-Yang District during the rainy season. The analytic model indicated more cases of malaria among males and individuals aged ≥ 15 years. Mapping of aggregated risk revealed consistently high or low probabilities of malaria infection in certain village tracts or villages in interior parts of each country, with higher probability in village tracts/villages adjacent to the border in places where it could easily be crossed; some border locations with high mountains or dense forests appeared to have fewer malaria cases. The probability of becoming a hotspot cluster varied among village tracts/villages over the year, and some had close to no cases all year.ConclusionsThe analytic model developed in this study could be used for assessing the probability of hotspot cluster, which would be beneficial for setting priorities and timely preventive actions in such hotspot cluster areas. This approach might help to accelerate reaching the common goal of malaria elimination in the two countries.

Development of a Liveable City Index (LCI) Using Multi Criteria Geospatial Modelling for Medium Class Cities in Developing Countries

In recent years, research and development on liveable cities has gained much attention due to the complexity and diversity of liveability standards. Due to the already-existing grand-scale developments commonly found in most capitals, research on liveability is often conducted in smaller semi-urban cities. Using Khon Kaen District in Thailand as a case study, we have developed a Liveable City Index (LCI) based on residents’ opinions and experts’ recommendations with the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. The first stage of the survey (out of three), identifies marked variations in attitudes towards the liveability of a city. The survey evaluates nine significant factors (Safety, Economy, Environment, Education, Health, Transportation, Recreation, Population Density, and Public Utility) through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for LCI development. The LCI map reveals that only 3.49% of the Khon Kaen area corresponds to the highest and high liveable city levels. This contradicts the earlier ranking of the city as the most liveable city in 2010, which was only based on economic factors. Moreover, the proposed method was applied to another area—the Muang district of Suphanburi in western Thailand—in order to test its reliability, and the results were found to be similar. This clearly supports the integration of residents’ participation in assessing the liveability of a city, and it is evident that this proposed approach can be adopted in other areas for LCI development.