1Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
2Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
3Professor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
4Instructor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
5Professor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
*Corresponding author: Thira Woratanarat, MD MMedSc Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 10330. Tel: 662-252-7864, Fax: 662-256-4292 Email: thiraw@hotmail.com
Online published on 4 July, 2016.
The 2013–14 was a period of political instability in Thailand. Anti-government protests rigorously took place between November 2013 and May 2014 with demonstrators occupying government offices, blocking major road intersections and holding mass rallies in Bangkok, a capital city, to call for the Prime Minister (PM)’s resignation and her government. We aimed to share the snapshots of health services responsiveness during recent political unrest in Thailand.
We conducted an observational study to describe the evolution of health services delivery system in all protest areas in Bangkok from 14th December 2014 to 17th January 2015, and health assessment was done during 12–21 March 2014.
Four phases of health services responsiveness were demonstrated: Non-medical staffs, medical staff involvement, team formation, and network system. Eleven health service units were organized to serve 13 satellite rallying locations with accessible range from 10 to 800 meters. 63.6% of health service units had at least one part-time physician. All units were staffed with nurse, pharmacist, and other non-medical volunteers. Morning and evening were busy hours. Social media and social networks have played a major role in health-related resources pooling, allocation and reallocation. Common health problems were usually accommodated by self tolerance or taking care by health services units in the protest areas.
Political unrest brings about negative impacts to population health. We emphasize the necessity of multi-sectoral collaboration in health services preparedness and proper channels for communication for effective responsiveness.
Health services, Political unrest, Political instability, Preparedness, Responsiveness
