The effect of health literacy development program on changing health behaviors for diabetes risk groups of village health volunteers (VHVs), Muang District, Yasothon Province.

Abstract

This two-group quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effects of a health literacy development program on changing health behaviors for diabetes risk groups of village health volunteers (VHVs) on the health literacy of VHVs and the health literacy, health behavior, and health outcomes of diabetes risk groups in Mueang District, Yasothon Province. The study was conducted in VHVs of Thung Nang Ok Sub-district, Mueang District, Yasothon Province, totaling 112 people, and diabetes risk groups in Thung Nang Ok District Health Promotion Hospital were calculated by the average comparison formula. A total of 56 people were then randomized by simple random sampling (Lottery). The data were collected using a questionnaire created by the researcher and examined by three experts with a reliability of 0.79. The descriptive statistics were used, and the inferential statistics were used to calculate by using the Paired Sample T-test. The study found that most of the risk groups for diabetes were female (76.80%), aged between 40 and 49 years (55.40%), had an average age of 46.57 years (S.D.=6.50), 96.40% were general contractors (GPs), and all of the participants had a family history of diabetes. After the trial, VHVs had significantly increased health literacy (p-value<.001). While the diabetes risk group had better health literacy, health behavior, and health outcomes in terms of body mass index, waist circumference, and fasting blood sugar (FBS) in every aspect (p-value<.001). The implementation of such programs should be encouraged to lead to better health outcomes for the community.