Action research to strengthen women weavers' self-care in North-East Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to improve self-care and work safety practices among women weavers in North-East Thailand. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Action research was used with a sample of 107 weavers and 15 community and local government stakeholders from six rural villages. Formative and summative evaluation was carried out over 10 months following initial implementation of five action plans, and after 5 years. MEASURES: Qualitative data were collected via focus groups, formal and informal interviews and research field notes. Women's self-care issues and safety problems, and weaving-related environmental pollution emerged from the content analyses. Five action plans were created. RESULTS: Results showed that through action research the women were empowered to identify personal and work-related health issues, environmental contamination concerns, and lack of social and community support systems. Over time they developed capacity for working collectively to address these. Five year follow-up revealed many of the changes made were ongoing, and well-integrated into community life. CONCLUSIONS: The study reaffirmed the potential for public health or community nurses and other health personnel for enhancing community health status via action research with vulnerable populations; in this case, rural village women weavers in North-East Thailand.

Strengthening the self-care of women working in the informal sector: local fabric weaving in Khon Kaen, Thailand (Phase I).

The first phase of this study was undertaken using Participatory Action Research (PAR) to identify the factual situations of fabric-weaving women working in the informal sector in Thailand. The aims were to enhance the mutual understanding of the women and researchers concerning the problems faced by these women and to establish an action plan to address these problems. The participant group consisted of 107 women working in the informal sector from three local villages who voluntarily took part in the study. Data were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods through structured questionnaires, focus groups, in-depth interviews, participant observations, and field notes. The results of the study revealed that the women learned their health problems were related to work and their labor potentially placed them at a risk for illness. When the women realized the gravity of their situation, they attained a sense of empowerment and took the initiative in establishing action plans to address their problems.