A Community-Based Reproductive Health Care Model Effectively Enhances Reproductive Health Among Lahu Women in Northern Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate and delayed access to sexual and reproductive health services among the Hill Tribe population can be attributed to the intersection of socioeconomic challenges and distinct cultural practices. To address this limitation and create a tailored model capable of addressing it, this study assesses the effectiveness of the Community-Based Reproductive Health Care Model (CRHC) in enhancing reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Lahu women, a prominent hill tribe population in Northern Thailand. METHODS: Implementing the CRHC model includes training programs for community influencers and subsequent education for Lahu women using culturally adapted courses. The effectiveness of the model is assessed through pre-test and post-test comparisons of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to reproductive health care and analyzed using paired t-tests and repeated ANOVA. RESULTS: The scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Lahu women changed from 8.92 ± 2.02, 52.99 ± 5.54, and 27.76 ± 6.67 to 10.47 ± 2.32 (p < 0.001), 56.61 ± 5.54 (p < 0.001), and 29.47 ± 6.76 (p = 0.030), respectively. Significant improvements are observed in these areas, particularly in maternal health practices among pregnant Lahu women (n = 11). This study additionally evaluates the model's impact on the healthcare system by analyzing changes in government performance indexes, showing increased access to high-quality antenatal care and contraceptive usage. This study highlights the challenges faced by hill tribe populations in accessing healthcare, emphasizing the need for tailored reproductive health education and the importance of addressing health insurance barriers. CONCLUSION: The CRHC model's success illustrates the potential of community-based, culturally sensitive interventions in improving reproductive health outcomes, providing valuable insights for similar interventions in other indigenous or marginalized communities.

Substance use among students in Thailand.

This study explored substance use prevalence, level of risk, and associated factors, especially related to binge drinking. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 306 students using questionnaires and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test-Youth screening tool. The associations between binge drinking and risk factors were analyzed by generalized linear models. Our results showed current prevalence rates of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs use were 56.9%, 22.9%, and 2.3%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that being a binge drinker was significantly associated with low self-efficacy, high sensation seeking, moderate to high smoking risk, and low grade point average.

Self-efficacy, sensation seeking, right attitude, and readiness to change among alcohol drinkers in a Thai vocational school.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of alcohol use in teenagers has been increasing every year. The majority of alcohol drinkers were vocational students when compared with other educational settings. Sixty percent of Thai vocational students were found to use alcohol. METHODS: Our research was a cross-sectional study in 306 vocational students, using the Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire, the ASSIST-Y (Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test-Youth) screening tool and a self-administered questionnaire. The association between alcohol drinking with sensation seeking, self-efficacy, right attitude and readiness to change factors were analyzed by binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Most students were males (57.5%) and 15-17 years of age (70.9%). Seventy-six-point eight percent of vocational students were in the lifetime drinker group. The binge drinker group was 32.7% and 10.5% were classified in a light drinker group. Sensation seeking was strongly associated with the binge drinker group and the light drinker group, especially the disinhibition dimension (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.34-2.00 and [OR] = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.06, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our research found sensation seeking, especially the disinhibition dimension was a significant factor for monitoring drinking behavior. We recommended that every vocational student should be monitored for sensation seeking factors.