Thai Journal of Public Health

Factors Associated with Violence of Persons with Disabilities in the Thai Context

Naruemon Auemaneekul — 2024-04-30

This study used an analytical descriptive research approach, focusing on violence against people with disabilities, the types of violence experiences, and the factors related to the violence among people with disabilities in the Thai context. This study applied the Ecological model for understanding interpersonal violence from the World Health Organization as the theoretical guideline. The calculated samples consisted of 201 people who have a disability aged 20 years old and over. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the general characteristics, and logistic regression was applied for the data analysis. The results revealed that people with disability experienced overall violence at 98%, psychological violence 96.5%, physical violence 77.1%, violence from being neglected 75.6%. Factors influencing violence against people with disabilities composed of younger age, being female, low income, living with illness, poor relationships within the family, less family members, and social values to violence. The result of this study could be beneficial in developing awareness and prevention programs to protect human rights violations against people with disabilities in the Thai context.

Thai Public Health Policy and Decentralization: a Case of Pro-Social Rule Breaking of Thai Local Health Staff

Kobchat Vichieansri — 2024-04-30

The study examines the pro-social rule breaking theory to understand the motivation and behavior of Thai local health staff over the rule breaking for local people/patients' benefit. This theory demonstrates why local staff tend to use their discretion to accomplish their jobs for the local people's benefit, although their discretions may contrast with the rules, especially the central administration’s rules and procedures. The factors behind local staff rule-breaking consist of three levels of analysis within the local workplaces: individual, relational, and organizational factors. The research intends to demonstrate the reason behind the use of discretion among Thai local health staff who work in local administration's health facilities for the social benefits of local people as their clients.

The research analysis was from an original questionnaire (n=205; 51.25% response), and the multiple regression model analyzed the relations of all variables. The results of the research analysis demonstrated that pro-social rule breaking behaviors are positive with local health staff conscientiousness and educational background. So, the research suggests that conscientiousness is the only theoretical factor that can convince Thai local health staff to break the rules, while other factors have no significant relationship with pro-social rule breaking behaviors.

Finally, the research suggests policy recommendations for strengthening the human resource development of Thai local health staff by supporting the role of public health unions and associations to protect Thai local health staff’s interest and to control the standardization of discretion and pro-social rule breaking of Thai local health staff.

Association between Oral Health Promoting School Activities and Oral Health Literacy, Oral Health Behavior and Oral Health Outcome

Chiraporn Khitdee — 2024-04-30

Bureau of dental health had implemented oral health promoting school program since 2008, activities cover; 1) build supportive oral health policy 2) improve children oral health skills 3) create supportive environment 4) set an oral health surveillance system and 5) engage of all stakeholders. This study aimed to find the association between the oral health promoting school activities and oral health literacy (OHL), oral health behavior and oral health status among school children.

This study was conducted in 3,671 primary-school-children grade 5-6 from 70 schools. Sampling was done by using the stratified two-stages sampling technique. Data were drawn from 1) school oral health activities questionnaires, 2) OHL questionnaires, and 3) oral health behavior questionnaires. Caries experience (DMF) of the children was derived from the Ministry of Public Health’s database. The Chi–square test and Logistic regression analysis were used in data analysis.

The result showed that the average mean of OHL among children was 21.6 (Adequate OHL= 21). Only 10.0% of Children brushed their teeth followed the key messages 222 (brush twice daily, at least 2 minutes and avoid eating 2 hrs. after brushed). Moreover, 10.5%, 14.9%, and 28.6% of children consumed carbonated soft drinks, sugary drinks, and snacks more than 2 times per day, respectively. A statistically significant association between schools implemented oral health activities and oral health literacy (p < 0.001), oral health behavior (p < 0.05), and oral health status (p < 0.05) were observed. Oral health promoting school should be scaled up as they related to good oral health behavior.

Translation and Validation of the Bahasa Malaysia Version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire

Siti Romahani Rahman — 2024-04-30

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) encompass traumatic circumstances encountered during childhood, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. The ramifications of ACE exposure in adulthood are linked to poor social, behavioural, and health outcomes. The ACE questionnaire has been widely used to identify individuals with childhood adversities and their relation to developing chronic diseases in adulthood. This research aims to translate and validate the 10-item ACE questionnaire from English to Bahasa Malaysia to facilitate its application in our context. The translation process involved forward and backward translation conducted by two language experts fluent in English as their second language. Content validation was performed by three public health specialists and three language experts. A pilot test was subsequently conducted involving 200 participants to assess the reliability of the translated questionnaire. After cross-cultural adaptation, we retained eight items with three domains of ACE. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.83 to 1.00, while the average scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) ranged from 0.88 to 0.98, signifying strong content validity. Furthermore, the overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined to be 0.703, indicating good reliability. In conclusion, we affirm that the 8-item Bahasa Malaysia version of the questionnaire presents a valid and reliable tool for assessing ACE among adult males in Malaysia.

Factors Associated with Food Insecurity among the Urban B40 Group in Kuching, Sarawak, During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Yeo Zi Sheng — 2024-04-30

Movement restrictions were one of many measures used to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 disease in Malaysia. The movement restrictions in Malaysia included suspending international travel, prohibiting gatherings, closure of non-essential business, and limiting travel distances. These restrictions negatively affected the economy, especially those already in poverty. The poor now have less capacity to attain safe and sufficient nutritious food to meet their dietary requirements for an active and healthy lifestyle. In Malaysia, those in poverty are grouped into the B40 income group, representing the bottom 40 per cent of income makers in Malaysia. This study determined the factors associated with food insecurity among the urban B40 group in Kuching, Sarawak, during the Covid-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional quantitative study collected data face-to-face using structured questionnaires from 302 urban B40 households in Kuching, Sarawak.

The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, food security, coping strategies, depressive symptoms and self-reported health status. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with food security. The results showed that among the respondents, the majority, 239 (79.1%) were food insecure, and among the variables tested, only age and self-reported health status were significant predictors (p < 0.01) of food security in Kuching, Sarawak, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Every year increase in age increases the chance of being food secure by 4.1%, while those with a good self-reported health status have a

2.25 times increased chance of being food secure compared to those with poor self-reported health status. The Covid-19 crisis profoundly disrupted the landscape of previously known factors associated with food security. With the results of this study, policymakers can use this new information to better target aid when faced with scarce resources during a crisis. Some examples are using resources to support those in poorer health status and providing education to the younger age group to utilise resources better among the B40 group.

Associations between Hunger and Mental Health among Adolescents in Bangladeshi Slums Amid COVID-19

SM Taslima Yasmin — 2024-04-30

Objective: Identify the prevalence of hunger, anxiety, and depression, while also exploring the association between hunger, sociodemographic factors, and the presence of anxiety and depression among adolescents in Dhaka's urban slums during the Covid-19 pandemic

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during April to May 2022 among 324 adolescents living in slums in Dhaka division, Bangladesh. Data collection was done onsite using a structured questionnaire. Anxiety and depression were assessed using pre-validated and reliable Bangla translated versions of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Hunger was measured using the Household Hunger Scale (HHS). Binary logistic regression was used to find associations.

Results: 61.7% of the adolescents suffered from moderate – severe hunger. The prevalence of moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression were high at 46.3% and 63.3% respectively. In logistic regression, hunger showed significant association with both anxiety (AOR= 2.345, 95% CI= 1.474- 3.731) and depression (AOR= 1.852, 95% CI= 1.166- 2.941). Additionally, early adolescence was associated with anxiety, and adolescents who were school going and lived in a household with >5 family members had more likelihood of both anxiety and depression.

Conclusion: Hunger during the Covid-19 pandemic was associated with increased risk of anxiety and depression. In crisis situations, public health measures should ensure that poor communities have access to at least basic meals to minimize impact on mental health of adolescents. Apart from this, they should also focus on living situations in slums and enhance their efforts in the national school feeding program.

Association between Personal Burnout and Depression after First Stroke of Working-age patients in Thailand: A one-year follow-up study

Siripan Naknoi — 2024-04-30

Background: Personal burnout is characterized by physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion due to prolonged stress or excessive demands. Individuals recovering from a stroke often experience significant physical and cognitive challenges during their recovery process, which can lead to increased fatigue and emotional strain. This physical and emotional exhaustion can contribute to the development or worsening of depressive symptoms.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between personal burnout at baseline and depressive symptoms after stroke over one-year

Methods: The study enrolled 103 participants who experienced their first stroke during working-age patients. The study period was 12 months. Personal burnout was assessed using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) at baseline, while depressive symptoms were measured using the Thai Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at baseline, six months, and 12 months during the follow-up period. The study employed Generalized Estimating Equations to

investigate the longitudinal relationship between personal burnout at baseline and depression over the course of one year.

Results: High personal burnout showed a significant association with depression scores over a 1-year period, (coefficient 3.257; 95% CI: 2.299, 4.215).

Conclusions: The high personal burnout score predicted worsen depressive symptoms after stoke onset. These results suggest that healthcare workers, families, and co-workers should prioritize mental health support and early detection of depressive symptoms, treatment, and coping strategies among working-age individuals who have experienced a stroke.

Factors Related to Mental Health and Quality of Life among College and University Teaching Professionals in Thailand

Paul Ratanasiripong — 2024-04-30

The field of higher education has grown rapidly throughout the last half-century, with student enrollment outpacing the general population growth rate in recent years. This has placed increased stress and demands upon university teaching professionals who have already been identified by researchers as one of the most stressed occupational groups. This quantitative study examined the predictors of mental health and quality of life among college and university teaching professionals. Data was collected from 360 teaching professionals employed at four higher education institutions in Thailand. Variables in this study included participants’ personal, professional, financial, health characteristics, and self-esteem as well as mental health conditions and quality of life. Multiple regression analyses revealed the following results: Gender, years work as teaching professional, BMI, and self-esteem are significant predictors of depression (adjusted R²=.33). Salary, savings, sleep, and self-esteem are significant predictors of anxiety (adjusted R²=.22). Years work as teaching professional, loans, and self-esteem are significant predictors of stress (adjusted R²=.17). Years work as teaching professional, loan, sleep, and self-esteem are significant predictors of overall quality of life (adjusted R²=.48). Preservation of university resources including teaching professionals is critical to ensuring the successful growth and development of the higher education institutions. Recommendations for improving quality of life and mental health outcomes for university teaching professionals include reducing pressure relating to research output, promoting self-esteem through mentorship and supportive workplace relationships, and encouraging healthy daily habits.