STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS IN CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Keywords:
Ethnography, people with disabilities, volunteers, caring, strengthening communityAbstract
The number of Thai people with disabilities is increasing. Community volunteers from the public sector play an important role in the provision of care for these people. This research report is a critical ethnography conducted in a community in the north of Thailand, and involved 119 key informants and 18 general informants who were purposively selected. It forms part of a thesis studying the community care system for people with disabilities. Data were collected by observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions, and were analyzed by content analysis. Results showed that the strengthening process of community volunteers involved 5 approaches: 1) establishment and development of the potential of community volunteers, 2) establishment of co- operation with public and partnership networks, 3) analysis and use of data to plan care for people with disabilities, 4) adaptation of health care services according to the situations of people with disabilities in the area, and5) development of public policy, plans, provisions, and funds at the local level. It is anticipated that this research can be used as guidelines for the development of volunteers to manage people with disabilities in the community.
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