The Development of Health Promotion using Great Potential Medicinal Herbs Model among People in Mahasarakham Province

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to develop a health promotion model using great potential medicinal herbs for the people in Mahasarakham Province. The study was conducted in three phases: (1) studying the current situation of herbal use among 400 people in Mahasarakham Province using a survey design with a questionnaire selected through multi-stage random sampling; (2) developing and implementing the model with an an experimental group (n=30) and a control group (n=30); and (3) evaluating the model's effectiveness using a quasi-experimental before the intervention, 6 weeks after implementation, and a follow-up assessment at week 8. Data were collected between November 25, 2024, and May 20, 2025. The research instrument was a six-part questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitude, protection motivation, behavior and satisfaction which yielded a content validity index range 0.67-1.00 and the reliability coefficients were 0.835 for knowledge, 0.840 for attitude, 0.887 for perceived severity, 0.935 for perceived susceptibility, 0.856 for response efficacy, and 0.882 for self-efficacy (components of protection motivation); and 0.894 for behavior. Data were analyzed using Repeated Measures ANOVA and MANOVA. The findings showed that: (1) the overall level of health-promoting behavior using great potential medicinal herbs among the people was moderate (M=35.69, SD=10.99). The qualitative analysis revealed that knowledge and understanding of herbs should be promoted through a multi-channel communication strategy, emphasizing credible online media combined with practical, hands-on activities that can be applied in daily life. (2) the developed model consisted of four activities: (1) Wise Use of Herbs Activity, (2) Herbal Knowledge Enrichment (3) Herbal Knowledge Activity and Skill-Building with a high-potential herb database program “Clear-Know-Click,” (4) Model Reflection and Lesson-Learned Activity, and The model's effectiveness revealed that after the intervention, the experimental group had significantly higher scores in knowledge, attitudes, motivation for disease prevention, and health-promoting behaviors than before the intervention and compared to the control group at a significance level of 0.05. The overall satisfaction with all aspects of the model was rated at a high level (M = 4.29, SD = 0.36). Therefore, relevant agencies should apply this model to promote the use of great potential medicinal herbs in order to encourage widespread and sustainable health-promoting behaviors among the public.