EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VILLAGE HEALTH STATION POLICY IN SCREENING FOR NEW DIABETES PATIENTS, PRATHAI DISTRICT, NAKHON RATCHASIMA PROVINCE
Keywords:
Effectiveness, Health station, Diabetes screening, Community health policyAbstract
The prevalence of diabetes in Thailand has been continuously increasing. Active community screening is a crucial strategy for identifying new cases and reducing the long-term disease burden. Prathai District implemented a policy to establish village health stations to enhance access to diabetes screening services for at-risk populations. This quasi-experimental research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the village health station establishment policy on screening for new diabetes patients in 2022 in Prathai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Data were analyzed using segmented linear regression analysis based on secondary data from the Health Data Center (HDC) database regarding the number of newly screened diabetes patients in Prathai District over a 10-year period (Fiscal Years 2015–2024). The intervention point was set in 2022, marking the implementation of the policy. The results revealed that prior to policy implementation (2015–2021), the trend of new diabetes patient screening increased significantly (β1 = 1,062.14, p = 0.021). In the first year of implementation (immediate level change), the number of screenings decreased by 1,299.03 cases, but this decline was not statistically significant (β2 = -1,299.03, p = 0.49). Regarding the long-term trend after implementation (trend change), the growth rate decreased compared to the pre-intervention period (β3 = -713.91, p = 0.17). However, the overall post-intervention trend remained statistically significant with an upward trajectory of 348.20 cases per year (β1 + β3 = 348.20, p = 0.047). In conclusion, although the village health station policy did not demonstrate an immediate positive effect (short-term effect), it was effective in the long term in maintaining a significantly increasing trend in screening access. Relevant agencies should focus on standardizing health station operations and enhancing personnel capacity to ensure the efficient and sustainable identification of new diabetes patients.
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