THE ROLE OF VILLAGE HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN HEALTH PROMOTION OF THE ELDERLY IN HUAI KRACHAO, KANCHANABURI

Abstract

This study aimed to 1. examine the role of village health volunteers (VHVs) in promoting elderly health, 2. investigate the relationship between personal factors and the role of VHVs, 3. analyze the relationship between work motivation and the role of VHVs, and 4. explore the relationship between social support and the role of VHVs. The study was conducted in Huai Krachao District, Kanchanaburi Province, which is transitioning into an aging society. This quantitative research utilized questionnaires as the primary data collection tool. The sample consisted of 200 VHVs, selected using stratified random sampling. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics, including Chi-square and Pearson’s correlation.

          The results of the study were as follows

1. The role of Village Health Volunteers in promoting the health of the elderly showed that VHVs play a crucial role in four main areas: providing health education (89.5%), monitoring chronic diseases (85.2%), offering mental health counseling (78.6%), and conducting home visits to the elderly (92.3%).


2. The relationship between personal factors and the role of VHVs revealed that age and years of experience were significantly related to the role of VHVs (p < 0.01), while gender and education level were not significantly related (p > 0.05).


3. The relationship between work motivation and the role of VHVs found that intrinsic motivation had a strong correlation with the role of VHVs (r = 0.63, p < 0.01), whereas extrinsic motivation had a moderate correlation (r = 0.48, p < 0.05).


4. The relationship between social support and the role of VHVs showed that emotional support had the highest correlation with the role of VHVs (r = 0.72, p < 0.01), followed by informational support (r = 0.55, p < 0.05) and instrumental support, which had the lowest correlation (r = 0.39, p < 0.05).

          The findings indicate that age and work experience influence the role of VHVs more than gender and education level. Additionally, intrinsic motivation and social support, especially emotional and informational support, are critical to enhancing the role of VHVs in promoting the health of the elderly.