Knowledge of Chronic Diseases and Competencies in Providing Services Regarding Chronic Diseases in the Community of Village Health Volunteers in Sura Thani Province

Abstract

This descriptive survey study aimed to study a level of 1) knowledge of chronic diseases and 2) competencies in providing services regarding chronic diseases to the community of village health volunteers in Surat Thani Province. Proportional to size sampling was applied to get a total of 362 village health volunteers from every district. The instruments used in the study were content validated by 3 experts. The questionnaire assessing the knowledge of chronic diseases of the village health volunteers had a reliability, tested with a Kuder-Richardson (KR-20), of 0.89. The questionnaire assessing the competencies in providing chronic disease services to community had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.98. Data were analyzed for frequency, percentage, and mean, and standard deviation. The study showed the following findings. 1) Most village health volunteers in Surat Thani Province had a knowledge of chronic diseases in a moderate level (67.13 %) . 2) Overall competencies in providing chronic disease services in the community of public health volunteers in Surat Thani Province was in a moderate level ( =1.94, SD = 0.88). Therefore, the involved organizations should improve the knowledge and competencies in providing chronic disease services to community of village health volunteers. The potential for improvement and support includes training, field trips, and practice in both primary care centers and in community. As a result, people in community can receive more effective chronic disease services from the village health volunteers.