The Effects of a Psychological Crisis Management Program from Flooding on Knowledge and Self-Care Capability of Village Health Volunteers, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study aimed to examine the effects of a psychological crisis management program from flooding on knowledge and self-care capability of village health volunteers, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province. The sample consisted of 52 village health volunteers (VHVs), selected using a purposive sampling. There were 26 persons in the experimental group, who received the psychological crisis management program from flooding; and 26 persons in control group, who did not receive the psychological crisis management program from flooding. The instruments used in this study were: 1) questionnaires for data collection included demographic data, knowledge, and self-care capability of a psychological crisis management questionnaires; and 2) the psychological crisis management program included a manual and the supportive-educative program for psychological crisis management as the intervention tool. The program was conducted 5 times, each time lasting 90-120 minutes. All instruments in this study were content validated by three experts. The reliability of the knowledge questionnaire was tested using Kuder-Richardson (KR-20), yielding a value of 0.85, and the reliability of the self-care capability questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, yielding a value of 0.93. The data were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square test, paired t-test, ANCOVA, and independent t-test.                                                                                           The results showed that:                                                                                                                                                      1. VHVs who received the program had a mean score of knowledge after attending the program (M = 76.83,    SD = 10.03) significantly higher than that of before attending the program (M = 64.36, SD = 11.31) (p < 0.001) and the mean score of the self-care capability after attending the program (M = 120.08, SD = 9.87) was also significantly higher than that of before attending the program (M = 81.46, SD = 8.45) at the level 0.001.                                                                     2. After controlling for the pre-test of knowledge, VHVs who received the program had a mean score of knowledge significantly higher than that of those who did not receive the program (F = 23.27, p < 0.001). VHVs who received the program had mean score of the self-care capability (M = 120.08, SD = 9.87) significantly higher than that of those who did not receive the program (M = 106.19, SD = 16.24) (p < 0.05).                                                                                   Results of the study showed that the psychological crisis management program could promote knowledge and self-care capability among VHVs. Therefore, health care providers should use this program to promote knowledge and self-care capability among the general crisis people.