VHVs as ‘Cultural Agency’ in Managing Health’s Risk through Multicultural Communities’ Social Networks during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This research project aims to examine the roles and functions of the Village Health Volunteers or ‘VHVs.’ In addition, this study analyzes socio-cultural networks which are allied by the VHVs and primary health service recipients residing in Nakhon Phanom. This project also explores how the VHVs mobilize and allocate local resources to individuals and households in coping with crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The informants are recruited by leading VHVs’ representatives and individual villagers (the primary health service recipients) living in three areas of Nakhon Phanom, including a municipality, Nongyat and Ban Phung’ subdistricts. The municipality represents an urban society while the two subdistricts represented rural society respectively. This research applies qualitative research methodologies including documentary research by synthesizing and analyzing data from books and various types of academic documents digitized in the online libraries’ websites and multiple social media platforms. The data collections are also conducted by applying anthropological research techniques including in-depth interviews with semi-structured questions and focus groups. This paper applies the “anthropology of public health” key conceptual framework to analyze the significant roles of the VHVs performing as “cultural agency” within social networks in Nakhon Phanom’s multicultural society during the crisisCovid-19 pandemic. undergoing in Nakhon Phanom. The research’s result suggests that the VHVs are successful in delivering efficient primary health care services to culturally diverse communities. Their successful performance is operated upon some important factors: firstly, the agricultural and ethnic-based social networks of Isan or northeastern culture; the collaborations between individuals, families/households, religious institutions, administrative organizations, and medical personnel; and lastly, the ability to understand and communicate to different ethnic communities. This paper, therefore, argues that the VHVs not only perform as “primary healthcare service providers” but also “cultural agencies” who can integrate three important categories of knowledge: 1) ethnic groups’ cultural wisdom; 2) primary knowledge for protecting and caring individuals’ well-being; 3) the applications of digital technology skill for managing local people’ health risk and for collaborating various communities’ stakeholders during the Covid-19 pandemic.