Development of a Family Health Practice Training Set through the Home Visit Process for Public Health Students at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University

Abstract

The teaching and learning process in public health education requires the development of individual, family, and community capacities for self-care, as well as the promotion of graduates’ roles in preventing health risk behaviors across all age groups. This research and development (R&D) study aimed to develop a family health practice training set based on the home visit process for public health students, and evaluate its effectiveness and students’ satisfaction with the training set. The participants were 98 second-year public health students. The research instruments included the family health practice training set, pre – test and post – test knowledge assessments, a practical skills assessment form, a reflection form, a satisfaction questionnaire, and a semi-structured in-depth interview guide. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the paired t-test, while qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis.

The results revealed that the developed training set had content validity verified by experts (IOC = 0.85). The mean pretest and posttest knowledge scores were 12.35 ± 2.15 and 17.48 ± 1.96, respectively, showing a statistically significant increase (t = 14.62, p < .001). Practical skill scores also improved from 2.77 (±0.39) to 4.31 (±0.33) at a statistically significant level (p < .001). Students’ overall satisfaction with the training set was at the highest level (M = 4.59, SD = 0.44). Qualitative findings indicated that the training set enhanced students’ knowledge, communication skills, and confidence in real practice. Furthermore, the reflection form promoted learning through real-life experience was consistent with the principles of Experiential Learning Theory. In conclusion this training set can serve as a practical guideline for teaching and learning in public health education, fostering holistic health care competencies and enabling students to apply their knowledge effectively in community settings.