Assessment of Knowledge Application on Thai Traditional Medical Use of Cannabis among Practitioners Attending the Training Program in the Use of Thai Traditional Drugs with Cannabis

Abstract

Objective: To assess knowledge application on Thai traditional use of cannabis among That traditional practitioners who participated in the training program on Thai traditional drugs with cannabis and to study the problems and barriers in applying the knowledge gained from the training to practice. Methods: The study collected the data from 452 Thai traditional medicine practitioners who attended the training on the use of Thai traditional drugs with cannabis in 2019 using the questionnaire on problems and barriers in applying the knowledge from the training into actual practice and a test on knowledge application. The test consisted of  case studies with 40 questions that corresponded to four domains in the training program including 1) laws, reporting on narcotics in schedule 5, and legal liability; 2) surveillance of the safety of cannabis-containing Thai traditional drug recipes 3) cannabis containing Thai traditional drug recipes and basic knowledge of marijuana; 4) principles and guidelines for customized drug preparations. The score on knowledge application  ranged from of 8 to 40 with a score of 60 percent of the full score as a passing criterion. Results: There were 340 subjects (75.22 percent) passing the test on knowledge application. Mean score of those attending the training program for the trainers (29.41 ± 5.56) was significantly higher than that of those attending the training program on Thai traditional medical use of cannabis (26.44 ± 5.35) with P < 0.001. The knowledge on principles and guidelines for customized drug preparation was the domain with the highest proportion of subjects having correct answers with a mean of 4.32 ± 0.86 out of the full score of 5. Safety surveillance of the use of Thai traditional drugs with cannabis was the domain with the least proportion of subjects having correct answers with a mean of 2.11 ± 1.03 out of the full score of 5. The subjects viewed that problems and barriers in prescribing cannabis containing Thai traditional medicines were lack of prescribing experience, lack of proper knowledge on the part of public about medical cannabis, and concern over side effects from cannabis, leading  them to hesitate in prescribing. Conclusion: The training course should be improved by adding practical knowledge and assessment question using case studies should be added. Moreover, additional courses to continually enhance the skill of program attenders should be developed.