Assessing knowledge of village health volunteers on pharmaceutical consumer protection and unsafe health products in Thailand

Abstract

Background: Village health volunteers (VHVs) are pivotal to Thailand’s primary care and increasingly engage in pharmaceutical consumer protection; however, evidence linking their knowledge to role perception and personal factors is limited. Objective: To measure VHVs’ knowledge of health consumer protection, examine associations with personal and role-related factors, and inform targeted training and policy. Methods: Cross-sectional census of active VHVs in Ko Chan District, Chonburi (n=270). A validated questionnaire captured demographics, role perception, and a 10-item knowledge test (0–10; also categorized). Descriptive statistics, group comparisons, Pearson/Spearman correlations, and multivariable logistic regression (outcome: high knowledge ≥80%) were applied (α=0.05). Results: Mean knowledge was 6.71±0.92 (median 7, IQR 6–7); mean role perception was 37.13±4.92 (median 36, IQR 34–41). Correlations between role perception and knowledge were non-significant (Pearson r=0.027, p=0.664; Spearman ρ=0.073, p=0.232). Logistic regression identified no independent predictors of high knowledge: role perception AOR 0.956 (95% CI 0.873–1.047; p=0.337); prior training AOR 0.691 (0.271–1.758; p=0.437); years of service and other demographics also non-significant, with some subgroup estimates imprecise due to sparsity. Conclusions: VHVs demonstrated moderate knowledge with limited variability and no detectable effects of role perception, training, or service duration. Findings support universal, competency-based refresher training and structured CPD aligned with pharmacy-practice priorities (e.g., recognition/reporting of substandard/falsified products) to strengthen community-level pharmaceutical safety.