Promoting mental health through community participation, Nong Tao, Tha Utane District ,Nakhon Phanom Province

Abstract

This action research aimed to determine mental health problems of people in
communities and implement mental health promotion by community participation.
The 3 phases of implementation are problem identification, operation, and
evaluation between July 2008–March 2009. Tools for surveying mental health
problems consisted of Mental Health Evaluation Form for Community Health
Activities from Mental Health Department, Thai’s Happiness Index, Suan Prung’s
Stress Evaluation Form, and Depression Evaluation Form. Focused Group Interview,
in‐depth Interview, descriptive statistics, qualitative data analysis were used to
evaluate the program. It was found that: 48% of the sample group were as happy
as other people and 22.0% were less happy than people in general; 41.2% were highly
stressed; 15.3% were seriously stressed; 7.3% were depressed, mental health
promotion plan for the community. The project implementation is consistent with
the lifestyle and culture of the community. Traditional programs, such as the annual
merit. And community the program harmonized with the people’s way of life.
Success of the program, which harmonized the people’s demand, depended on
community participation, community’s leaders and government agency
supporting.