Factors affecting the performance of village health volunteers in Rasi Salai District, Sisaket Province

Abstract

Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) are an important force in supporting the community health provider. This participatory action research was aimed at 1) studying the factors affecting the performance of VHVs in Rasi Salai District, 2) developing a work model that enhances the potential of VHVs through participatory action research, and 3) evaluating the changes from the development process that lead to sustainable work improvement. The research was conducted in 4 phases from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. The sample consisted of 38 VHVs. The research instruments consisted of semi-structured interviews, observation forms, workshop recordings, and questionnaires to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative data collection. The data analyzed were using simple descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, T-test, and assessment of the impact of the activities.

The results of the research found that the majority of the sample group was female (80.1%), aged between 40-59 years. 79.3% were married, 75.0% completed primary school, 75.4% worked as farmers, and 46.9% had a monthly income between 1,000-5,000 baht. 81.3% had been a VHV for 1-5 years, and 32.8% had joined the VHV voluntarily (87.9%). Relationship factors, knowledge factors, attitude factors, work supervision factors, welfare and compensation factors, and social support factors were also considered. There was no statistical relationship with the overall performance of the VHWs. The attitude factor was related to the performance of the VHWs in terms of health behavior adjustment and coordination with individuals, organizations, and networks (p < 0.05). The supervision factor of public health officers was related to the performance of the VHWs in terms of coordination with individuals, organizations, and networks and performance at the health station (p < 0.05). The welfare and compensation factors were related to the performance of the VHWs in terms of coordination with individuals, organizations, and networks and performance at the health station (p < 0.05). The social support factor was related to the performance of the VHWs in terms of health behavior adjustment, coordination with individuals, organizations, and networks, and performance at the health station (p < 0.05). The knowledge level and home visit performance level of the VHWs after participating in the context-based learning program were significantly better than before participating in the program (p < 0.001). Most VHWs, 47.73 percent, had a high level of satisfaction (mean = 7.84, SD = 3.94) after participating in the project.

Conclusions: There are changes in knowledge, practice, and satisfaction levels by the context-based learning program that can be applied to build capacity, promote the performance of village health volunteers, and create mutual learning between public health officers (government sector) and village health volunteers (civil sector) and stakeholders in the community in line with community participation.