Perspectives on public health interventions in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand

Abstract

Background: Any government needs to react quickly to a pandemic and make decisions on healthcare interventions locally and internationally with little information regarding the perceptions of people and the reactions they may receive during the implementation of restrictions. Methods: We report an anonymous online survey in Thailand conducted in May 2020 to assess public perceptions of three interventions in the Thai context: isolation, quarantine and social distancing. A total of 1,020 participants, of whom 52% were women, responded to the survey. Results: Loss of income was the main concern among respondents (>80% for all provinces in Thailand). Traditional media and social media were important channels for communication during the pandemic. A total of 92% of respondents reported that they changed their social behaviour even before the implementation of government policy with 94% reporting they performed social distancing, 97% reported using personal protective equipment such as masks and 95% reported using sanitizer products. Conclusions: This study showed a high level of compliance from individuals with government enforced or voluntarily controls such as quarantine, isolation and social distancing in Thailand. The findings from this study can be used to inform future government measures to control the pandemic and to shape communication strategies.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding “New Normal” Guidelines and Quality of Life Among Thai People During the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

“…The findings revealed that many participants frequently engaged in practices regarding the “new normal” guidelines, which was similar to previous findings ( 28 , 36 , 41 ). In addition, 95.5% of participants always wore masks when they went to public places.…”

“…The findings will be useful for developing health education programs and improving QOL. The findings revealed that approximately 16.6% of participants experienced job loss during COVID-19 curfew restrictions, which is a greater proportion than that reported in previous studies before travel restrictions and curfews were implemented (11.4%, from 21 April to 4 May 2020) ( 35 ) and during travel restrictions in May 2020 ( 36 ). The results indicated that monthly family income was decreased during travel restrictions and curfews among for 68.6% of people in Public Health Region 6, which was a similar proportion to that found in a previous study ( 36 ) and a greater proportion than that before curfew ( 35 ).…”

“…The current results also revealed that single people had less positive attitudes than those who were divorced or separated, whereas Ferdous et al reported that single people had more positive attitudes than those with other marital status ( 45 ). Pan-ngum et al reported that mental health and wellbeing problems among single people were greater than those among people who lived with a partner and/or children/relatives ( 36 ). The present study revealed that participants who were students had less positive attitudes than participants who were unemployed, in accord with a previous study by Ferdous et al ( 45 ).…”

“…Sheldon et al reported that Thai people spent an average of 4.16 ± 2.60 h (SD) using online social media ( 37 ), and >60% spent more than 1 h per day using social media during the COVID-19 outbreak ( 38 ). Pan-ngum et al reported that 88% of respondents indicated that they received COVID-19 information via social media or messenger apps ( 36 ). Tiaprapong et al found that 12.0% of health science students smoked and 29.0% drank alcohol during the early implementation of “new normal” guidelines in September 2020 ( 28 ).…”

How to model the impact of vaccines for policymaking when the characteristics are uncertain: A case study in Thailand prior to the vaccine rollout during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The modelled effectiveness of NPIs was based on data from their application in Thailand during the first wave, hand hygiene and masking, social distancing, work from home, school closure and travel ban (or border closure) were tracked and incorporated in the model [15] , [16] , [17] . Further details on this aspect of the model are available in Supplementary B.…”