Thai Health Education Program for Improving TB Migrant’s Compliance
Pornsak Khortwong PhD*, Jaranit Kaewkungwal PhD*
Affiliation : * Department of Tropical Hygiene, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : Investigate the effectiveness of health education programs by using the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to improve
non-Thai migrant TB patient’s compliance during treatment.
Material and Method: This quasi-intervention study was conducted in three targeted hospitals, between August 2009 and
December 2010. The study sample consisted of 100 cases, 50 cases who registered in Samutsakorn Province served as the
intervention group and 50 cases who registered in Samutprakarn Province served as the control group.
Results : At the end of the health education intervention, the intervention group showed significantly improved health-behavior
scores in nine domains-health promotion, health education, predisposing, reinforcing, enabling factors, behavior and
lifestyle, environment, and health status, which were also significantly higher than the control group (p<0.001). The
percentage of patients achieving successful treatment outcomes was 76% in the intervention group and 62% in the control
group.
Conclusion : The tuberculosis treatment and care program, and the associated health education interventions enabled
migrants to complete the treatment regimen and achieve treatment success. It could also help TB staff develop an appropriate
program and clear understanding of TB control among migrants. It is recommended that this type of information and health
education program be used in other hospitals and healthcare settings providing TB services for migrants throughout the
nation.
Keywords : Tuberculosis, Migrants, Health education, and patient’s compliance
