Research Article
Dr.Patthira Phon-ngam
Abstract
The purposes of research were 1) to study the knowledge used by local folk healers, the condition of healing and services, the acceptance of the methods used by the folk healers in Loei Province, and 2) to develop the model for the promotion of the community health with the herbal wisdom of I-san folk healer participated by the related stakeholders. Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research were applied, the quantitative research was used in the survey, and the quantitative research was used in an in-depth interview, the participatory observation, and focus group discussion. The target groups in this study consisted of the registered folk healers from 14 districts of Loei who still perform the healing, the local people who get the services or used to get the services from the folk healers, the senior people in the areas, and Thai traditional medicine scholars. The findings were as follows. 1. All folk healers treat the illness according to the systems of human body. The healing condition in which the folk healers used was related to the belief of local culture that the folk healers believe, including (1)the belief in the causes of illness, (2) 4 elements and 5 aggregates of life, (3) astrological belief on fate, (4) astrological belief on the causes of illness, (5) the belief on the 4 elements of life, (6) the belief in the rite of Thai traditional medicine, (7) the belief and the rite on the herbs, and (8) the belief on the village herbs and the elimination of illness. The acceptance on the healing methods of the folk healers in Loei indicated that the patients and the relatives are satisfied with the results of healing, because the symptoms of illness were disappeared. Some people were back to normal, however, everyone can go back to live life and to work normally as before. 2. The results from the development of the healthy promotion model in community with the knowledge on herbs of the folk healers using participatory action of related the stakeholders in the community were in 3 models; Model 1: The community health promotional activities consisted of (1) the activities related to public health to promote the local students’ learning, (2) herbs garden project in schools, (3) the first aids cure with the herbs in schools instead of using medicine, Model 2: the creation of learning materials of the local wisdom of the folk healers by making books and CDs titled Herbs in Loei and I-san Herbs Recipe, and Model 3: The Dissemination of folk healing knowledge to people. The evaluation of the 3 models was done by the observation of the activity participation, interview on the satisfaction, and the usefulness of the participation in the activities.