Effects of a Self-Efficacy Enhancement Program for Village Health Volunteers Buddy on Their Competency in Monitoring and Supporting Voluntary Drug Rehabilitation Patients Through Community Participation and the Recurrence of Drug Use Among Patients in Sapphaya District, Chai Nat Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research aimed to examine the effects of a self-efficacy enhancement program for village health volunteers (VHVs; “Buddy VHVs”) on their competencies in monitoring drug-dependent patients after voluntary treatment and on relapse prevention through community participation. The participants were 26 VHVs in Sapphaya District, Chai Nat Province, purposively selected to participate in a four-week program conducted between April and September 2024. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews and analyzed with descriptive statistics and paired t-tests.

The findings revealed that the competency scores of VHVs in monitoring and caring for drug-dependent patients significantly increased after participation in the program (x̅ = 32.73, S.D. = 3.94) compared to before (x̅ = 20.00, S.D. = 5.40), with statistical significance (t = 20.647, df = 25, p = 0.01). Moreover, the VHVs successfully monitored all 50 patients (100%) for four follow-up sessions. Among these, 48 patients (96.0%) did not relapse into drug use. The results indicate that the self-efficacy enhancement program effectively improved the confidence and capacity of VHVs in carrying out their responsibilities, while contributing to reducing the risk of relapse among patients. This approach highlights the importance of strengthening community-based preventive health systems and provides a sustainable model for enhancing the role of VHVs in public health and drug rehabilitation.