Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on Cigarette Smoking among Adult Myanmar Migrant Workers: A Case Study in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Bann Leuk and Nongree Sub-district, Ratchhaburi province, Thailand in March, 2011. The main purposes of this study were to identify the prevalence of smoking and to identify the association between demographic characteristics, level of knowledge, level of attitudes and practices of smoking of adult Myanmar migrant workers aged between 18 to 59 years who lived in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. This study was conducted with 385 samples by using a structured interview questionnaire. The overall prevalence of cigarette smoking was 40% with the prevalence of males was 55.3% and of females was 9.4%. Among respondents, 39.7% had high level of knowledge about cigarette smoking and its harmful health consequences while 30.4% had moderate level of knowledge. For attitude toward smoking, 59% of respondents had high level of positive attitude towards risks and prohibition of cigarette smoking and 37.4% had moderate level. Smoking behavior was high significant difference with age (<0.001), gender (<0.001) and duration of staying in Thailand (<0.001). There was an association between knowledge of smoking and cigarette smoking behavior (<0.001) while there was also statistical different between attitude towards smoking and cigarette smoking behavior (<0.001). This study was done with the expectation that the information obtained from this study can be used as a baseline data for further studies. Interventions are needed to be considered for behavioral change and to conduct prevention and control measures of smoking among adult Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.