Meanings and Indicators of Well-being in Health in the Perspective of the Farmers in the Northeast of Thailand
Banjong Krobbuaban MD*, Buapun Prompakping PhD**
Affiliation : * Chaiyaphum Hospital, Chaiyaphum, Thailand ** Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Background : Well-being is a complex notion with many different dimensions whose definition is disputed. Therefore, the
present study considers the meanings and indicators of well-being in health in the perspective of the farmers of the Northeast
of Thailand. The conceptual framework of research is based on well-being concepts developed by the Research Group on
Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) and further developed by the Research Group on Well-being and Development at
Khon Kaen University. The concept is comprised of three main dimensions. The first is what people have or do not have
(material and human resources, social relationship). The second is what people do and do not do or cannot do with these
resources, and why (social or cultural action). The third is how people judge, assess, and feel about these things, how they
make and cannot make sense of what happens (meaning).
Material and Method: The present study is qualitative research. The population of the present research was the farmers in
the target area where the data were collected by purposive sampling in Chaiyaphum Province. The main research methodology
employed was focus group discussion with district member in one district from each of the three groups of district in
Chaiyaphum province. The secondary research method employed was a workshop of ten qualified representatives of the
personnel from both the government and private sectors who were involved with the farmers in the province were selected by
purposive sampling. Then, the data were analyzed by means of content analysis. The method for reviewing of data was the
triangular technique.
Results : The results of the present study found that the meanings of “well-being in health in the perspective of the farmers in
the Northeast” reflect every perspective: materials and non-materials (objective and subjective well-being). The indicators of
well-being in health in the perspective of the farmers of the Northeast of Thailand had eight aspects and forty-five indicators
that included both subjective well-being and objective well-being.
Conclusion : The present study concludes that well-being indicators that developed from the viewpoints of farmers could be
employed to enhance well-being of farmers in the development process.
Keywords : Well-being, Health, Farmer, Meaning, Indicator
