The Development of participatory public policy through the health assembly: Unwanted Pregnancy Management Issue, A Case Study of Chonsoomboon Subdistrict, Nong Mueng District, Lobburi Province

Abstract

Unwanted pregnancy was a major public health problem in developing countries including Thailand. The number of teenage pregnancies in the country increases while the age of the pregnancy decreases. Currently, there are up to 15 percent of pregnant teenagers, which is more than the criteria of the Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization that pregnant women are less than 20 years of age, not more than 10 percent of pregnant women. Teenage pregnancies affect the health of pregnant women, families, communities, society and economy as a whole. This problem is complicated; therefore, the solution cannot be resolved by only one organization. Chonsoomboon subdistrict, Nong Mueng District, Lobburi Province is a successful example of operational health assembly towards governance by network. At the beginning, Prakhrubaidika Songphon Chayananto, the abbot of Prasrirattanasadsadaram and a strong leader, coordinated groups of people in many communities to gather informally until becoming a power of friendly friends that connected all parties together and expanded to be a working group on reproductive health. After that, the process of health assembly was applied to drive the issue good youth of Chonsoomboon by the strategy of opening the space for youth, stimulating youth to be aware of future goals, encouraging youth to realize self-worth, use their time wisely, and make the relationship with the lover correctly. Finally, the "Unwanted pregnancy" problem in Chon Somboon Sub-district was obvious downtrend. As a result, policy recommendations in this issue were offered from local to the Provincial Health Assembly. The key success factor is synergy of network in all sectors.