Supada Kumsuchat. The development of alliances for health promotion among the older persons in an urban community in Bangkok . Doctoral Degree(Public Health Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
The development of alliances for health promotion among the older persons in an urban community in Bangkok
Abstract:
Health alliance teams are establishing health programs which subscribe to the aims of
the Ottawa Charter in the development of people and communities. This three-phased
participatory action research was conducted to study the establishment and development of
health alliance teams, the implementation, and the outcomes of health promotion programs for
the older persons in an urban community of Bangkok. In pre-implementation phase, the data
were collected through focus group disscussions, in-depth interviews and participatory
observation of raising community awareness and establishing and developing the alliance
team. During the implementation phase, the health promotion programs for the older persons
were planned and carried out by the health alliance team with cooperation from different
partners : the primary health alliance team, and the secondary health alliance team including
people from within and outside the community. In the evaluation phase, level of strength and
program satisfaction reported by health alliance team, and improvement of health promoting
behavior of the older persons, community changes were assessed based on the Ottawa
Charter.
The results of the study showed that participatory action research was effective in
building and developing the health alliance team and health promotion program for the older
persons. It was found that 47.0 precent of the older persons expressed a high level of
satisfaction with the program. Improvement of their skill was also observed. In addition, 53.4
percent of the members with the health alliance team and clubs had a high level of satisfaction
of the program implementation. Good coordination and cooperation were found among
various health-related clubs within the community and with other organizations outside the
community. At the community level, the evidence showed that 10 health-related clubs have
been established, the health promotion skills of the older persons have been developed, a
healthy public policy has been established, supportive environments have been created, and
public health services that are conducive to health promotion have also been provided.
The factors determining the strength of the health alliance team were social,
organizational and work process factors, and the researcher’s role in the community. The
study suggests that the success of a health promotion program for the older persons in the
urban community depends on a process that provides for involvement of other partners in
every phase of the program. Although, the primary health alliance workers who lived in the
community is the center of the program, community involvement, particularly participation of
the older persons is essential to the success of the health promotion program.