Knowledge and perceived skills for health management after a flood among village health volunteers in southern Thailand

Aim: This study aimed to identify the level of knowledge and perceived skills regarding health-related fl ood management among 380 village health volunteers (VHVs) living in fl ood-affected areas in southern Thailand. Methods: The self-report of Knowledge and Perceived Skill Questionnaires, which was developed based on the risk-reduction planning process of the Community-Based Disaster Risk Management framework, were provided by the VHVs. These two questionnaires were validated and tested for reliability, yielding a correlation coef fi cient of 0.70 for the Knowledge Questionnaire and 0.96 for the Perceived Skills Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Results: The VHVs had a high level of knowledge and a moderate level of perceived skills regarding health-related fl ood management. Moreover, the area that the VHVs had the highest of both knowledge and skills was related to performing fi rst aid for Athlete ’ s foot care, whereas the area of the least knowledge was on assessing dwellers ’ perception of disaster preparedness, and the lowest skills was in the area of administering fi rst aid for a bone fracture. Conclusion: These fi ndings can be used as basic information for conducting appropriate disaster management programs to promote VHVs ’ knowledge and enhance skills, especially health risk management and training in a disaster management plan.