Knowledge and Confidence of Thai Massage Practitioners after Training with the Anatomy and Physiology Knowledge Package: Case Study of the Nongpakhrang Thai Massage, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

The research focused on measuring knowledge and confidence both before and after a training program on anatomy and physiology through a single-group pretest and posttest study. The purpose was to compare the levels of knowledge and confidence required to apply anatomy and physiology to Thai massage services. The samples were gathered from 22 Thai massage service providers who belonged to Nongpakhrang Thai Massage Association in Muang district, Chiang Mai province. The application of anatomy and physiology knowledge for Thai massage services was evaluated using knowledge and confidence questionnaires in four sets of data collection before, immediately after, one month after, and three months after training. Statistical analysis techniques were used to analyze data, including paired sample T-test, one-way variance analysis for normally distributed data, and Kruskal-Wallis test for non-normally distributed data.
The study revealed that the average knowledge and confidence scores for Thai massage providers who applied anatomy and physiology knowledge to their Thai massage services were significantly higher than those before the training at p < 0.05. There were no differences between the average scores of knowledge and confidence immediately after training, after one month of training, and after three months of training when tracking them. This indicated that using such a set of knowledge increased knowledge and confidence, making Thai massage practitioners in Nongpakhrang, Chiang Mai Province provide services more safely and efficiently.