J Med Assoc Thai 2012; 95 (9):1219

Views: 1,577 | Downloads: 49 | Responses: 0

PDF XML Respond to this article Print Alert & updates Request permissions Email to a friend


Substance Abuse among Migrant Workers of Thai-Laos Border, Thailand
Jaichuang S , Ratanasiri A Mail, Kanato M

Objective:Study the impact of substance abuse among migrant workers along the Thai-Laos border region in Nakhon Phanom Province.

Material and Method: The target population included migrant workers aged 15 years and over and were selected using the snowball technique. Data were collected from 300 migrant workers and in-depth interviews and focus group discussion were carried out. Data analysis used content analysis, descriptive statistics, and multivariate logistic regression.

Results: Fifty-five point seven percent of migrant workers used stimulants namely tobacco, energy drinks, coffee, and methamphetamine. Males were at greater risk for substance abuse than females (AOR 16.03; 95% CI 8.43-30.45) and those who received news and information from community radios and news broadcasting towers were at more risk than other media (AOR 5.38; 95% CI 2.88-10.05). The impact of substance abuse were found to be chronic cough, moodiness, lack of interest in food, headache, wakefulness, sleeplessness, tremor, heart palpitation, and accidents.

Conclusion: Health promotion strategy must be implemented to minimize the harm. Motivating behavioral modification while keeping in mind the lifestyle, work, and environment of these people could help.

Keywords: Impact, Substance abuse, Migrant workers


Download: PDF