Access and Usage of Veteran Rehabilitation Services: A Case Study of Veterans General Hospital attached to The War Veterans Organization of Thailand Under Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King

Abstract

The Study on “Access and Usage of Veteran Rehabilitation Services: A Case Study of Veterans General Hospital attached to The War Veterans Organization of Thailand Under Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King” aims to study access and usage of 4 veteran rehabilitation services (i.e. medical rehabilitation, educational rehabilitation, occupational rehabilitation and social rehabilitation) in Veterans General Hospital. In this survey research, the sample were 130 outpatients and inpatients i.e. disabled veterans treated at Veterans General Hospital. The data was collected by questionnaire and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The statistics included frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The study results were summarized as follows.

Most veterans were male, aged 68 years, held forth-level cards and had no occupation. The first cause of disability was accident. Most veterans had physical disability. From the study, 113 veterans acknowledged rights under the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act B.E. 2550 (2007), followed by recognizing key contents of the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act B.E. 2550 (2007). Regarding rights, veterans acknowledged requirement on hospital disability certificates for disabled registration and right access. The usage according to the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act B.E. 2550 (2007) (rights under Section 20) was at the moderate level. Regarding social rehabilitation services, the most acknowledged right was monthly allowance of 800 Baht. The most accessible right was monthly allowance of 800 Baht. The overall usage of 4 rehabilitation services under the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act B.E. 2550 (2007) was at the moderate level. For rehabilitation services under The War Veterans Organization of Thailand Act B.E. 2510 (1967), veterans acknowledged rights on educational rehabilitation services. The most acknowledged right was Queen Sirikit scholarships for first-level card veterans (80.0%). The most accessible right was physical therapy for disability (80.0%). The overall usage of 4 rehabilitation service rights under the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act B.E. 2510 (1967) was at the moderate level.

The recommendations are that The War Veterans Organization of Thailand should collaborate with organizations and networks of the disabled, both private and public units, to jointly set proper welfare development plans; and take into consideration the highest benefits of veterans. In order to reduce unfair rights and ensure fair treatment, welfares and policies for each card class in term of right difference should be surveyed properly. Policies on veteran welfare should be studied, developed and updated. Rights should be easily accessed. Terms and conditions may be changed from time to time.