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.

“Like a wake-up call for humankind”: Views, challenges, and coping strategies related to public health measures during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Thailand

“…By contrast, participants who lived in provincial areas and had less contact with other people outside their home reported less compliance with the public health measures. These findings are consistent with the results of the quantitate part of the Thai SEBCOV study [31].…”

“…Participants in this study generally expressed agreement with government-imposed public health measures. This confirms and explains the findings from our quantitative SEBCOV study [30,31], and other studies that have reported widespread agreement with governmentimposed COVID-19 NPIs and high levels of compliance with public health measures among Thai residents, including voluntary behaviour changes before official government regulations were implemented [30,31,51]. By offering an in-depth exploration of the views of public health measures, this study helps to shed light on the reasons and motivations for high selfreported compliance and agreement among a small number of Thai residents.…”

“…The survey included questions about the perceived economic and social impacts of NPIs, participants' voluntary behavioural changes and self-reported compliance, and the prevalence of misinformation and 'fake news'. The results of the cross-country [29,30] and Thai survey study [31] have been published elsewhere and provide a quantitative overview of the socio-economic impact of the first pandemic wave, based on large respondent numbers from each country (5058 respondents in total, 1476 from Thailand). Results from the cross-country comparison qualitative SEBCOV study have also been published [37].…”

“…These programmes included discounted electricity and water bills, low-interest loans and financial compensation for lost income (70% of current salary for 6 months for citizens covered under the social security scheme and 500 baht/USD160 per month for three months for those not covered) [28]. In a recent survey comparing the impact of NPIs across five countries during the first pandemic wave, Thai respondents reported being economically most negatively affected by these public health measures [29][30][31]. It is thus important to gain in-depth understanding of the impact and lived experiences of stringent public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic-a research gap which our study seeks to address.…”

Economic and social impacts of COVID-19 and public health measures: results from an anonymous online survey in Thailand, Malaysia, the UK, Italy and Slovenia

“…We have also conducted a preliminary analysis of unweighted Thai survey responses during May 2020, which includes more detailed breakdowns by regions within Thailand. 66 …”