Last Spring (May 2009) I received an e-mail from Professor Page at Brigham Young University telling me about a possible opportunity. He had received an ORCA grant to take 4 students to Thailand to collect data on smoking literacy among adolescants a long with the chance to learn more about public health in Thailand. I met with him that next week and filled out an application for this Student Research Mentoring Project. I was accepted shortly after and thrilled about the project. When fall came around we continually had meetings, and each member would research different health and culture topics to teach each other about Thailand. The more we got to know about Thailand the more excited we were. As soon as we started figuring out all the details we could hardly wait.
Finally the trip came and we were able to learn more about public health in Thailand than we ever could otherwise. It was a great experience that I know will help me in my future career and has changed my perceptions on health. In this blog I have summarized the important information I have learned to help others see what health is really like in Thailand. They truly are making major progress in Thailand. They have moved away from being a third world country. I hope you will all enjoy learning more about Thai people and the progress they have made in public health!
Things Learned About Health in Thailand:
There are currently 66.7 million people in Thailand. The top 5 health problems in this population are:
- High blood pressure
- Riding motorcycles without helmets
- Unsafe Sex
- Smoking/Tobacco use: 10 million Thai people smoke
- Alcohol Consumption
Only 15 years ago AIDS/HIV would have been in this list. However, after years of hard work in Thailand AIDS has majorly decreased from 10-15% in 1993 to 1-2% currently. Out of the 66.7 million people in Thailand only 600,000 are currently HIV+.
Health Care Statistics:
- Since 2002, 80% of Thailand’s health care has been provided by the government.
- The other 10-20% is covered by private health care.
- Only 4% of Thailand’s GDP goes to health care unlike the United States who spends 16% of our GDP on health care.
