Abstract:
The main objective of the study was to assess the use of reproductive health services among minority women of reproductive age in Thong Pha Phume Minority Settlement, Karnchanaburi Province, Thailand. This cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2006 – March 2007. The respondents were minority women aged 14 – 49 years who are currently living in the settlement for at least one year, with a total of 224 participants. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. The six interviewers and 6 translators were trained to obtain the data. PRECEDE Model was applied as a conceptual framework. Data analysis was done by using SPSS program. Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to analyze the association between independent and dependent variables. The study found that the use of the reproductive health services in the study area was lower than the use of the reproductive health services nationwide. The use of family planning service among the study group was 61.0 per cent while the contraceptive prevalence rate in the country was 81.1 per cent. The use of birth attended by skilled health personnel among the study population was 45.1 per cent, while the use of the service in the country as a whole was 99.0 per cent. Factors that influenced the use of reproductive health services was predominately the perception of the availability of reproductive health services, that was associated with the use of family planning service (p = .003), post partum care (p-value < .001), and cervical cancer screening service (p = 0.012). The women who perceived the availability of the service used the services more than the women who did not perceived or did not know the availability of the services. The other factor that influenced the use of the reproductive health services was Thai speaking ability. It show statistically significant association with the use of family planning (p = .014), birth attended by skilled health personnel (p < .001), postpartum care service (p < .001), cervical cancer screening (p = .004), and practice of self-breast examination (p = .009). It was found that the women who have a greater ability to speak Thai use the reproductive health services more than the women who have a lower ability. This study can assist authorities and NGOs to promote the use of reproductive health services among the minority women in the study area concerning the appropriate and sufficient methods.
