KEY COMPETENCIES FOR SERVING AS VILLAGE PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS: A CASE STUDY OF KHON KAEN MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

This research article applied the mixed-method approach, conducted with the Village Public Health Volunteers (VPHVs) in Khon Kaen Municipality. In the quantitative research, the samples were 111 people, collected by Proportional Random Sampling technique. The research tool was the questionnaire. Analysis methods were Descriptive Statistics and One-way ANOVA whilst in the qualitative part, there were 10 key participants, collected by the purposive sampling technique. The research instrument was a semi-structured interview form and the content analysis was applied in the qualitative approach.

Findings indicate that 1) the roles of the VPHVs were to coordinate with government agency and to address community health problems. 2) the degree of problems and obstacles were found at the medium level. The most problematic findings were related to people cooperation, insufficient income and the lack of supporting instruments used in the operation, respectively. The degrees of the competencies in knowledge, skills, traits and motives were found at the medium level whilst the self-concept was at the high level. Finding indicated that demographic profiles of respondents (age range, types of community and the amount of training) were significantly related to level of competencies. 3) the guidelines for increasing the competencies of the VPHVs were, the key responsible organization should provide appropriate training program, sufficient budget, modern equipment, encourage people to cooperate and develop themselves to be volunteers 4.0. In addition, they should be consistently encouraged and develop competencies in a way appropriate for the community.