Thai Traditional Medicine Services Standard in Health Promoting Hospitals, Health Region 1

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aims to explore the coverage percentage of Thai traditional medicine (TTM) services in Health Promoting Hospital (HPH), and to find factors associated with the TTM services standard in the HPHs, according to the Thai traditional medicine and integrative medicine promoting hospital standard (TIPhS). The questionnaire was mailed to 409 representatives of the HPHs in health region 1 and 168 HPHs were responded (response rate 41.08%). The representatives were HPHs personnel who conduct TTM in the HPHs. 

The results found that 162 HPHs provide TTM services (96.4%). 74 HPHs (45.7%) met the criteria of TIPhS guideline as to the standardized HPH. The significant factors associated with the TTM services standard were as follows: internal factors such as having herbal drug products 10 items or over (OR = 3.90, 95% CI 1.87 – 8.14), monitoring in HPHs (OR = 3.80, 95% CI 1.80 – 8.04), and the responsible person with TTM services experience (OR = 3.42, 95% CI 1.70 – 6.88), including the monitoring by Provincial Health Office (OR = 3.25, 95% CI 1.62 – 6.52) as the external factor. Also, every HPH that had the TTM practitioner passed TIPhS.

The study findings led to the recommendations that TTM board in regional health level should set a policy and transfer to the provincial level to support herbal medicine prescription in HPHs including enhancing health provider capability in TTM services, training registered nurses to be able to diagnose and prescribe herbal medicine to treat primary illnesses while monitoring and evaluation continuously for sustainability.