Factors related to Health Communication Skills of Bachelor of Public Health Students in Community Public Health Program, Faculty of Public Health and Allied Health Sciences, Praboromarajchanok Institute

Abstract

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to determine health communication skills and factors associated with health communication skill among students of the Bachelor of Public Health Program, Community Public Health Major, Faculty of Public Health and Allied Health Sciences, Praboromarajchanok Institute. The study sample consisted of third- year and fourth-year students from Sirindhorn College of Public Health in 7 institutions who studying during academic year 2024, totaling 357 participants. Samples were selected using multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected from January to March 2025 through
an online questionnaire that had been quality-verified, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.98. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, specifically multiple logistic regression, with results presented as OR_Adj, 95% CI, and p-value.

The results showed that the majority of participants were female (84.59%), average age was 21 years (S.D. = 0.97). Most of them had a high level of health communication skills, average score was of 78.85 (S.D. = 10.15). Factors significantly associated with health communication skills were interpersonal-level factors (OR_Adj = 15.63, 95% CI = 7.66–31.88,
p-value < 0.01) and community-level factors (OR_Adj = 4.35, 95% CI = 2.30–8.24, p-value < 0.01).

The findings indicate that developing students’ health communication skills should focus on enhancing interpersonal interactions and fostering a community environment conducive to health communication, as well as promoting the continuous development
of health communication skills throughout the curriculum.