Browsing by Author "Chirawatkul, A"
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Item Factors associated with state hospital utilisation among Thai elderly who had illnesses which needed hospitalisation.(1998-09-16) Jitapunkul, S; Songkhla, M N; Chayovan, N; Chirawatkul, A; Choprapawon, C; Kachondham, Y; Buasai, SOf the 4,480 elderly subjects in a multistage random sampling household survey of a National Survey of the Welfare of the Elderly in Thailand (SWET), 669 (14.9%) reported that they had been hospitalised during the last year and were recruited in an analysis which aimed to examine associated factors of state hospital utilisation among Thai elderly. Seventy eight per cent had been admitted once during the last year. Mean (standard deviation) duration of hospital stay during the last year was 11.9 (20.1) days. For the last period of hospitalisation, 532 elderly (79.5%) were admitted to state hospitals. One hundred and nineteen elderlies (17.8%) used private hospitals. Only 18 elderly (2.3%) used both state and private hospitals. According to the causes of hospitalisation, the elderly who used state hospitals were not more severely ill than those who used private hospitals. Nine univariate factors associated with state hospital utilisation were entered in a logistric regression model in which five independent determinants were identified including 'do not have electricity', 'heads of the family are not their children', 'do not have own savings', 'live in rural area', and 'have heard about free health care programme'. The Ministry of Public Health and organisations which are concerned with the elderly should allocate more resources to advertising a free health care programme for Thai elderly.Item Falls and their associated factors: a national survey of the Thai elderly.(1998-04-12) Jitapunkul, S; Songkhla, M N; Chayovan, N; Chirawatkul, A; Choprapawon, C; Kachondham, Y; Buasai, SOf the 7,713 subjects aged 50 and over in a multistage random sampling national survey of Thailand, 4,480 Thai elders aged 60 and over were interviewed in a study which aimed to determine rate, characteristics and the associated factors of falls in the last six months. Eight hundred and thirty-six elders (18.7%) had one or more falls. Female elders (21.5%) fell more often than their male counterparts (14.4%). There was no association between age and falls among Thai elder population. Most of the falls occurred outside (65%) and during the day time (85%). Multiple regression analysis showed that independent factors associated with falls among male elder were a bad or fairly bad health, reported hypertension, problems with walking in the house, problems with crouching and a lack of electricity in the house. Independent factors associated with falls among female elders were a bad or fairly bad health, joint problems, illness which made her unable to have normal activities during the last year, problems with crouching, going to buy food everyday, very lonely feeling, having less than 3 meals a day, a lack of electricity in the house and living in a Thai style house or hut. This study revealed that environmental and intrinsic health factors which affected balance and gait were the main factors associated with falls among Thai elders. Nutritional status as a contributing factor to falling among elderly women was also suggested.Item Familial clustering of presumptive sudden unexplained death syndrome (PSUDS).(1991-06-01) Tatsanavivat, P; Chirawatkul, A; Klungboonkrong, V; Saowakontha, SRegarding the suggestion that presumptive sudden unexplained death syndrome (PSUDS) may be genetically associated, we recently conducted a study to reveal the clustering of the PSUDS in extended families. The data collection was done through case searching, interviewing using structured questionnaires and cross-referencing among informants. The precise criteria were used to identify the SUNDS cases. The collected data were age, sex, time and place of death, details of events at death, and vital statistics of relatives. There were forty-nine families with 418 family members included in the study. Twenty-five cases of PSUDS were reported from 14 families. All were men, with the mean age (+/- SD) 31.26 (+/- 7.01) years and the age range was 25-50. There were 6 clusters of SUNDS in sibling groups. Three of the clusters consisted of three siblings each and the other three clusters consisted of two siblings each. Most of the individuals in the siblings clusters had different occupations and died in different places and in different years. The aggregation of PSUDS in families is demonstrated. However, whether it is genetically related needs further study.Item The pattern of diarrhea in children in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand: I. The incidence and seasonal variation of diarrhea.(1990-12-01) Sutra, S; Srisontrisuk, S; Panpurk, W; Sutra, P; Chirawatkul, A; Snongchart, N; Kusowon, PThe incidence, seasonal variation and risk factors of diarrhea in children in Thailand are not well defined. The objective of this study is to identify the incidence and seasonal variation of diarrhea in a rural community. A cohort of 481 children under five years of age from 14 villages in rural northeastern Thailand was followed for 1 year, from May 1988 to April 1989. The data were collected daily by 5 participant observers who resided in the villages during the study period. During the 25,012 person weeks of surveillance, 384 episodes of diarrhea occurred; 279 episodes (72.7%) were watery diarrhea and 105 episodes (27.3%) were dysentery-like diarrhea. The incidence of diarrhea was 2.1, 1.76, 0.96 and 0.45 episodes per child per year for children aged 0-6 months, 7-12 months, 1 year and above 2 years, respectively. Males were affected as frequently as females. The average duration of illness was 4.9, 2.1, 1.5 and 0.5 days per child per year for children aged under 1 year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years and more than 3 years old, respectively. Both dysentery and watery diarrhea rates peaked for children of all ages from May to July, during the early rainy season. A second peak of watery diarrhea in the winter from November to January and was seen primarily in children less than 2 years old. The monthly incidence of diarrhea was associated with rainfall, ambient temperature and occupational behavior of people in each season.Item Prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias in Thai community.(1999-07-08) Kiatchoosakun, S; Pachirat, O; Chirawatkul, A; Choprapawan, C; Tatsanavivat, PThe resting 12 leads electrocardiogram was recorded in 3,822 men and 4,969 women (aged 30 years or over), who participated in the First National Health Examination Survey of Thailand and the data was used to determine the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias. In this apparently normal population 362 subjects (the standard age adjusted rate was 39.2 per thousand) had cardiac arrhythmia. The prevalence rate of atrial fibrillation was 3.6 per thousand (males 3.6, females 3.6) and ventricular premature beat was 12.1 per thousand (males 7.3, females 15.6). For atrial premature beat, complete and incomplete right bundle branch blocks, sinus arrhythmia, first degree atrioventricular block and delta wave, the prevalence rates were 4.0, 7.0, 4.6, 2.7, 2.4 and 1.3 per thousand respectively. Complete and incomplete left branch blocks, left anterior hemiblock, second degree antrioventricular block and short PR interval were rare in this survey.Item Working and living conditions of construction workers: comparison between large and small construction sites in northeastern Thailand.(1997-03-01) Thinkhamrop, B; Chirawatkul, A; Dobson, A; Chirawatkul, S; Prab-na-sak, B; Kampor, PThis study examined differences in working and living conditions of construction workers in large and small construction sites in Northeastern Thailand. Data were collected by questionnaires, through observation and interviewing. A total of 812 construction workers from 20 large sites and 24 small sites were studied. Working and living conditions among the construction workers were generally poor. However, they were better at the large sites than the small ones. The data suggest an urgent need to improve sanitation and safety conditions on the construction sites and camp sites, including personal protective devices and improved welfare for the workers and their families.