Health Communication Holistic Medicine of Balavi Viangping Natural Medicine Center Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research is to analyze Balavi Viangping Natural Medicine Center health communication. In-depth interview is used in data collection process to gather data from 13 research samples. The samples are selected from various group of people as follows: five from the service providers at the Balavi, and eight from the service receivers-this group had been using the Balavi more than three moths. The researcher divides the result of this research into four parts.

The study findings on the Balavi Viangping Natural Medicine Center revealed that in the use of health communication, the sender was required to possess expertise in health care and communication including 1) communication skills—to build good relation and 2) communication actions—to give adequate explanation with simplified language.  Also, the result showed that the sender presented three points relating to health communication: 1) self-care, 2) recognizing risk factors, and 3) health promotion. Regarding the messages about holistic health, the content could be divided into two points: a state of complete physical and mental. In terms of channel, the findings indicated that the media, especially personal media helped with decision-making to get the services and radio and online media helped with information access. In terms of receiver, the receivers realized their potential and their state of health, along with benefits of health promotion behaviors. Moreover, the findings showed that the receivers initiated self-care of their physical and mental health.