Developing primary care occupational health services for informal sector workers in Thailand

This study demonstrates action research's emancipatory traditions in enabling community stakeholders in rural Thai settings to increase self-reliance and collaboration in improving primary care occupational health services. Most of the Thai workforce are informal sector workers outside Thai labor law protections, health and safety regulatory frameworks, and without specific occupational health services to provide for work-related health needs. This project brought together community leader teams, village health volunteers and informal workers themselves to collaboratively develop community services for this underserved group. Significant changes were effected at community team level, with improvements in networking and community nurses' health care for the workers and in their oversight and supervision of village health volunteers (VHVs) in the community. Most notably, VHVs' self-confidence improved at providing illness prevention and health promotion support in workers' homes and work settings congruent with their daily lifestyle and work schedules. Informal workers' health self-care behaviors improved.