Factors associated with Thai Traditional Medical Services at Nongmakhamong Health Promotion Hospital, Danchang District, Suphanburi Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional survey study aimed to investigate the utilization and association of factors in use of Thai traditional medicine services of Nongmakhamong Health Promotion Hospital, Danchang District, Suphanburi Province. The study sample consisted of 336 persons who were instructed with the questionnaire from January to February 2021. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Chi-square test. Results showed that 60.70% of the subjects utilized Thai traditional medicine services, with 33.62% of them utilizing massage service followed by herbal medicine service (24.42%). The factors significantly associated with utilization of Thai traditional medicine services were age, marital status , average monthly income, number of time used the service, perceived service quality, service waiting time, service factors, information and reminders from others, and treatment history (p-value<0.05). Therefore, health promotion hospitals should advertise information about Thai traditional medicine regarding the quality of services, assign specialized Thai traditional medicine doctors for services, and develop a chart that clearly illustrates the steps of utilizing Thai traditional medicine services to inform the clients for understanding about the steps of services and waiting time at each service unit. Clients should be encouraged to recommend or pass on the advantages and benefits of utilizing Thai traditional medicine services. They should also be reminded or advised by health care providers to utilize Thai traditional medicine services to promote more utilization of Thai traditional medicine services.