The experiences of district public health officers during the COVID-19 crisis and its management in the upper southern region of Thailand: A mixed methods approach

Chuthamat Kaewchandee; Unchalee Hnuthong; Sudarat Thinkan; Md Siddikur Rahman; Suttida Sangpoom; Charuai Suwanbamrung

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12558

The experiences of district public health officers during the COVID-19 crisis and its management in the upper southern region of Thailand: A mixed methods approach

Heliyon. 2023 Jan;9(1):e12558. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12558. Epub 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Chuthamat Kaewchandee¹, Unchalee Hnuthong², Sudarat Thinkan², Md Siddikur Rahman³, Suttida Sangpoom^{4

5}, Charuai Suwanbamrung^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Research and Medicine Innovation, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand.
² School of Public Health, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand.
³ Department of Statistics, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, 5404, Bangladesh.
⁴ School of Science, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand.
⁵ Excellent Center for Dengue and Community Public Health: EC for DACH; MPH. and PhD. in Public Health Research Program, Walailak University, 80160, Thailand.

Abstract

District public health officers (DPHO) are the major health care providers and vital resources for tackling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Thailand. No studies have been published on their experiences of combating COVID-19 in Thailand. To guide and improve COVID-19 control efforts, we aimed to describe their experiences and analyze associated factors for tackling the outbreak. This mixed-methods design involved providing structured questionnaires to selected DPHOs across 52 districts of seven provinces in the upper southern region Thailand. We performed data analysis using descriptive and multivariate statistics. The quantitative approach used questionnaires that demonstrated the content validity and reliability. Data collection involved Google forms, analyzed by multivariate statistics. The qualitative approach comprised an online in-depth interview of 11 DPHOs and a thematic analysis. Results found of the 52 DPHOs, 41 were men (78.8%), and the mean age was 50.02 years (SD = 8.52 years). Their proactive experiences were significantly associated with sex (OR_adj = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.11-3.30), age (OR_adj = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.09-2.76), the length of experience in the current position (OR_adj = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.43-3.63), and working time in the current position (OR_adj = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.43-3.63). There was no significant association between marital status, knowledge, understanding, opinion, proactive practice, and participation experiences. These results were related to six themes of the qualitative approach as follows: High morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, COVID-19 concomitant with several problems, Reaching out to the community for better COVID-19 solutions, The importance of regular reports and feedback, Solution planning based on the situation, and Providing relief to all stakeholders from COVID-19 issue. Proactive experiences of district public health officers are important for sustainable COVID-19 solutions. Disseminating relevant equipment, guidelines, policy, and government regulations is necessary to promote preparedness and efficacy in the crisis management of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019; Crisis; DPHOs, District public health officers; District public health officer; Experience; Mixed methods approach; MoPH, Ministry of public health; Public health.