SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

Volume 12, No. 01, Month JANUARY, Year 2018, Pages 47 - 58

Evaluation of the establishment of health promoting hospital via geographic information system in the north-eastern area of thailand

Anun Chaikoolvatana, Vachirasak Pakasit

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The health promoting hospital (HPH) has been established in Thailand since 2009. However, there have not been any documents indicated the evaluation of the appropriateness of HPH establishment. This applied-survey research aimed to develop a geographic information system (GIS) tool to assess whether the HPH establishment is appropriate. There were totally 31 HPH staffs enrolled into the study. A GIS database was created. The appropriateness and importance of HPH establishment were assessed via six components related to HPH establishment (6 questionnaire items). Also, weighing score summary was analyzed and interpreted via descriptive statistics (e.g., frequency, mean, percentage). The findings showed there were only three crucial components, including transportation, total population within responsible areas, and a number of healthcare workers, especially registered nurses, were highly appropriate for the HPH establishment via mean scores. In contrast, a total number of patients outside the area setting (per month), and a number of healthcare workers had low mean scores and need to be improved. Finally, the weighing scores indicated that most HPH were moderately appropriately established (53.33%). Overall, using GIS to visually represent the appropriateness of HPH establishment through the questionnaire evaluation, provided valuable information that assisted in facilitating primary care center management and organizational change.

Keywords

geographic information system, health promoting hospital, geographic positioning system (GPS), primary care unit (PCU)

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