Amornrat Ratanasiri

Gender Differences in Health-Related Practices among University Students in Northeast Thailand

The study aims at appraising gender differences in health-related practices, and health behaviour among university students of the Khon Kaen University, northeast Thailand, using a self-administered questionnaire. Of 539 university students, there were 155 males, 384 females, with mean ages 19.7 (±1.2) and 19.6 (±1.1) years, respectively. Persistent health problems were not significantly different between male and female students (12.9% vs. 15.4%). An average body mass index (BMI) was significantly different between male and female students (20.2 ± 2.1 vs. 19.8 ± 2.1). Female students reported positive health habits, in terms of drinking, smoking, sun protection, tooth brushing, fruit consumption, conscious efforts to avoid fat and cholesterol, over men, while regular exercise and safety belt use were more likely practised among male students. Using ANOVA and pairwise multiple comparisons, female students demonstrated better health eating habits than men (p=0.0001). Coronary heart disease preventive habits between the medical and non-medical faculty was greater for female students than for male students (p=0.0006 for gender; p=0.0001 for faculty). Health behaviour (combination of health eating habits, deliberate nutritional practices and coronary heart diseases preventive behaviour) was found to be better practised among women than men (p= 0.0001). These findings, therefore, should focus attention on university students as a target group for health education.

Effectiveness of Community Participation in a Surveillance System Initiative to Prevent Drowning in Thailand

This study had a 2-group pre-post quasiexperimental design and was conducted in 2 selected areas of Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. The objective was to evaluate the extent to which the surveillance system that was developed helped in drowning prevention. The development process involved extensive participation from the community. System efficiency was evaluated, and the drowning rates were compared. The system demonstrated 82.8% system sensitivity and 87% positive-predictive value. There were 90.0% rescues with no injury during the study period. The relative risk of drowning injury suggests that the control area was at 5.6 times more at risk for drowning injury than the intervention area (95% CI = 1.58, 20.12). Local knowledge and participation from the community were found to be key issues in the success of the surveillance system, and such systems can be applied to other areas with similar problems.