Health literacy on gastrointestinal disease prevention among Myanmar migrant workers in Mae Ramat district, Tak province, Thailand

Abstract

The development of migrant health service is an important Thai national agenda. This qualitative research aimed to explore the health literacy skills of Myanmar migrant workers in preventing gastrointestinal diseases. The samples of this study were Myanmar migrant workers from large industries (n=22) as well as those from small industries and household (n=20). The research site is located at Mae Ramat district, Tak province. This research used purposive sampling and the data were collected through focus group discussion and in-depth interviews. The results of this study indicated that the level of information access skills related to gastrointestinal disease prevention was dependent on age, gender, culture, experience, and communication skills of the migrant workers. While the decision-making skills and health behavior depended on their individual health literacy. The decision and the health behaviors of the migrant workers were likely to change after experiencing the gastrointestinal illness and utilized the health facilities and services from both hospitals and private clinics in Thailand. Nevertheless, the migrant workers still face several challenges in changing their health behaviors to prevent gastrointestinal disease due to economic condition, working condition and the consumption behavior. For the media literacy in gastrointestinal disease prevention, the migrant workers who worked in large industries have more channels in checking and learning the health information from a variety of sources when compared to workers in small industries/household workers. Finally, the research found the culture and gender of migrants are important elements in developing health literacy skills on gastrointestinal disease prevention among Myanmar migrant workers. Findings from this study indicated that female workers were more enthusiastic than their male counterparts in obtaining health literacy information. This is possibly due to the Asian culture, in which women are expected to take care of household and well- being of family members.