The Public’s Behavior in Using the Thai Traditional Medicine in the Public Health Service Providing Establishments in Ubon Ratchathani Province

Abstract

The research aimed 1) to study bio-social factors, leading factors, supportive factors, reinforcing factors and the public’s behavior in using the Thai traditional service in the public health service establishment in Ubon Ratchathani province; 2) to examine the relations of the factors in question and 3) to create an equation to predict the public’s behavior in using the public health service. The samples were 400 people receiving the Thai traditional medicine service in the public health service establishment. They were derived by a multistage sampling. The research instruments were a questionnaire with a total confidence value equivalent to .86 and the test on Thai traditional knowledge with a confidence equivalent to .77. Statistics used in data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. The research findings were as follows 1. The frequency of the public in Ubon Ratchathani province in using the Thai traditional medicine in the public health service establishments was at a very frequent level. 2. The factors related to the public’s behavior in using the Thai traditional medicine service at a statistical significance of .05 were educational status, occupations, an attitude to traditional medicine, knowledge and belief in traditional medicine, service places, access to the service, getting an information and family support. 3. The factors affecting the public’s behavior in using the Thai traditional medicine service in the service establishments at a statistical significance of .05 were a university degree (X9) family support (X21), getting information on the traditional medicine (X20), belief in Thai traditional medicine (X17) and an attitude towards Thai traditional medicine service (X15). These five factors could explain by 65.10% a behavioral variance in using Thai traditional medicine service of in the public health service establishments and had a standard variance error equivalent to .373. A predictive equation can be written as follows: An equation of raw scores: Yˆ = -.451 + .444X₂₁ - .9107X₉ + .213X₁₇ + .219X₂₀ + .219X₁₅ An equation of standardizes scores: Zˆ = .305Z₂₁ - .357Z₉ +.119Z₁₇ + .159Z₂₀ +.107Z₁₅