Community-based Health Promotion Model Ban Bo Lo, Nakhon Si-Thammarat Province

Abstract

Elderly health promotion in the context of community helps strengthen the community. It requires specific methods and patterns that meet the needs of each community. The research team has conducted Rapid Ethnographic Research for Community Study in Ban Bo Lo, Chian Yai district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand, where the community-based health promotion for the older adult is offered. This study aims to distill the lesson learned and synthesize the community-based health promotion model. The research reveals that the community-based health promotion model consist of input factors from cooperation between the Elderly’s Tall Narrow Drum Club and social development personnel of Maechoa Yoo Hua sub-district administration organization. Partnership network includes health promoting hospitals and sub-district administration organizations, and other supportive agents, namely, Bo Lo temple, Maechoa Yoo Hua temple, and Wat Bo Lo school. The process of health promotion emphasizes all-parties participation in planning and issuing the plans in written form, and running the plans thorough effective communication. The plan focuses on reinforcing the elderly’s potential to look after themselves. Furthermore, regular and periodical evaluations must be implemented so that the process is assessed, monitored, and improved to match Ban Bo Lo community’s lifestyle. The success factors of health promotion process are attributed to the inherited local wisdom of Tall Narrow Drum, which can be seen as an entertaining exercise. The activity is a major tool to stimulate the elderly’s aggregation as well as promote physical exercise among them. Such entertainment is a pride of the community that has been passed down from generation to generation. It brings together family, friends, relatives, and acquaintance. Finally, the community has the learning process that helps develop the elderly health promoting model that leads to community strengths in health promotion development.