.Introduction
Use of lay health workers (LHWs) in a Community-
Based Chronic Disease Control Program is one of the
efficient methods for disease prevention and control
(Wiangnon et al., 2007). Chronic diseases such as
diabetes, cancer and hypertension are major problems
for Thai people. One reason may be that, as a result of
globalization, people around the world now have similar
patterns of food consumption and daily life behavior
and are therefore all frequently exposed to the many
possible risk factors for these diseases. A recent study
in Khon Kaen, a province in Northestern Thailand,
confirmed that many people were suffering from chronic
diseases (Promthet et al., 2011). Risky behaviours such
as smoking, alcohol drinking, and low levels of exercise
or activity were also frequently reported. These problems
can be solved if people receive health education, which
effectively increases their knowledge and awareness of
risk factors.
A Multi-professional Intervention and Training for
Ongoing Volunteer-based Community Health Programme
has been launched in Khon Kaen Province (Wiangnon et
al., 2007), and the aim of this study was to evaluate the
success of the health education program by comparing the
health knowledge of people before and after the programm
was established.
Materials and Methods
The target population for this community-based
questionnaire survey of health knowledge was about
5,000 people aged 18 years and above from urbanized,
semi-urbanized and remote areas in Khon Kaen Province.
A sample of 1015 participants was randomly selected
from the target population and completed the survey
questionnaire prior to start of the health education
intervention programme. Another sample of 1030
participants was randomly selected for completing the
same questionnaire after the intervention.