Emotional Well-Being Following Religious Conversion Among Women in Northeast Thailand.

Religious conversion can have a profound impact on individual mental health and emotional well-being. These changes may need specific nursing care. In this article, we describe the lived experiences of 21 women who converted from Buddhism to Islam and who live in Isan, the northeast region of Thailand. The data derive from in-depth interviews, natural conversations, and observations. Thematic analysis revealed two dominant themes: women's sense of happiness in their new faith, and their suffering following from and as a result of their conversion. To provide appropriate care to and prevent mental health problems among Isan women who convert from Buddhism to Islam, and other women in similar contexts, health providers need to enhance their understanding of conversion and to be aware of life experiences that impact on their emotional well-being.

Drinking culture in the Thai-Isaan context of northeast Thailand.

Ethnographic research aimed to explore drinking context, drinking behaviors, and perception of lay people about their drinking and drinking-related behaviors in Thai-Isaan context. The study was conducted in a suburban village in the northeast of Thailand during 2008. Participant observation and informal interview were employed for data collection throughout the year. Findings of the study revealed that alcoholic beverages and drinking were woven into everyday life and integrated into various social events and traditional rites as part of social life. Alcohol consumption was permitted overtly with positive attitudes toward drinking and a low level of restriction. Enjoyment and social functions of drinking were recognized by direct experience in real life. Conversely, problem drinking and overt intoxication with loss of self-control or lack of responsibility were not expected or acceptable. Drinking was rarely perceived as a social distress. From an insiders' view, their drinking was less correlated to alcohol abuse or alcohol-related social problems. In the context of a permissive drinking culture, the existing alcohol regulation measures may be neither supported nor conformed as expected. An alcohol policy that aims to reduce the overall volume of consumption or to indicate the negative consequences may dispute local perceptions and norms. The challenge for public health within this culture is how to persuade the drinkers to realize such negative potential and how to raise societal awareness of negative consequences. Positive local norms and values should be emphasized and strengthened to promote a more healthy drinking culture.

Measuring the impact of health problems among adults with limited mobility in Thailand: further validation of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile.

BACKGROUND: The Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP) was developed to provide a tool for measuring the impact of a health condition from the individual's perspective, using the ICF model as a framework. One of the aims of the ICF is to enable the comparison of data across countries, however, relatively little is known about the subjective experience of disability in middle and low-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP) for use among adults with a disability in Thailand using Rasch analysis. METHODS: A total of 210 adults with mobility impairment from the urban, rural and remote areas of northeast Thailand completed the PIPP, which contains 23 items assessing both impact and distress across five key domains (Self-care, Mobility, Participation, Relationships, and Psychological Well-being). Rasch analysis, using RUMM2020, was conducted to assess the internal validity and psychometric properties of the PIPP Impact subscales. Validation of the PIPP Impact scales was conducted by comparing scores across the different response levels of the EQ5D items. RESULTS: Rasch analysis indicated that participants did not clearly differentiate between 'impact' and 'distress,' the two aspects assessed by the PIPP. Further analyses were therefore limited to the PIPP Impact subscales. These showed adequate psychometric properties, demonstrating fit to the Rasch model and good person separation reliability. Preliminary validity testing using the EQ5D items provided support for the PIPP Impact subscales. CONCLUSION: The results provide further support for the psychometric properties of the PIPP Impact scales and indicate that it is a suitable tool for use among adults with a locomotor disability in Thailand. Further research is needed to validate the PIPP across different cultural contexts and health conditions and to assess the usefulness of separate Impact and Distress subscales.

Suk-Sam-Bai: the quality of life perceptions among middle-aged women living with a disability in Isaan, Thailand.

Midlife represents a time of shifting roles and biopsychosociocultural change for women. Physical disabilities compound the effect of such on daily life and quality of life. The objective of this study was to explore how middle-aged women with disabilities in Isaan perceived their current quality of life. A qualitative method was applied. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and observations. Sixteen disabled women were recruited through purposive and theoretical sampling. Qualitative data were analyzed using both thematic and content analysis. Triangulation was used to ensure data rigor. "Suk-Sam-Bai" was a term frequently used by disabled women in this study to define their quality of life. Life experiences, goals, and achievements lead to experiences of gain, maintenance, and loss in three interrelated aspects that include: fluctuations in physical capacity and health, maintaining gender role, and a caring and supportive environment. These three aspects impact on an individual's personal perception of Suk-Sam-Bai. Study findings indicate that gender and culture play significant roles in the lives of disabled women in Isaan culture. Based on study findings, providing gender- cultural sensitive nursing care is essential to delivering comprehensive and effective healthcare to women with disabilities.

Quality of life perceptions of middle-aged women living with a disability in Muang district, Khon Kaen, Thailand: WHOQOL perspective.

OBJECTIVES: Measure the quality of life of middle-aged women with a disability and examine the association of their quality of life and socio-demographic factors. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was applied Thirty-two women with disabilities aged 40-60 years were selected by using stratified random sampling. The WHOQOL-BREF-THAI, Modified Barthel ADL Index (BAI), Chula ADL Index (CAI), and Estrogen hormone deficit syndrome questionnaires were applied Data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis and Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: The level of their overall quality of life, when measuring all dimensions of WHOQOL, was moderate. Overall, QOL perceptions correlated positively and significantly with BAI (r(s) = 0.4848, p = 0.0048), CAI (r(s) = 0.5963, p = 0.0005), and their income balance (r = 0.4124, p = 0.0150), while other factors such as marital status, educational level, occupation, duration of disability, disability level, health problem, and estrogen hormone deficit syndrome were not statistically significant correlated. CONCLUSION: The present study results revealed that independency and financial sufficiency are significant factors on quality of life of disabled middle-age women. Promoting independency and financial status may be crucial for enhancing their quality of life.

Health promotion for middle-aged Isan women, Thailand: a participatory approach.

It is increasingly clear that non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis, are important not only for the developed but also the developing world. Prevention efforts depend on community-based interventions and for these to be successful a participatory approach is necessary. The present paper describes experiences with middle-aged females living in a village in Isan, the Northeastern area of Thailand, focusing on the steps necessary to develop trust between researcher and subjects, the actual conditions of the women involved and their problems. From this base a number of interventions are planned taking into account the wishes of the villagers themselves, including a project to facilitate participation in physical exercise, a prime measure for prevention of cancer and other NCDs.

Perceptions about menopause and health practises among women in northeast Thailand.

The purpose of the present qualitative study was to understand health perceptions and practises among Thai menopausal women. One hundred and forty-two women aged 45-59 participated in the study in 1999. Data gathered from observations, focus group discussions, and in depth interviews were analyzed by using the hermeneutic phenomenological method. Four main themes emerged as characteristic of the health perceptions, practises and worldviews of the participants. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of what it is like to be a menopausal woman, and why certain health activities are practised.