Prevalence and Characteristics of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases in Semi-Urban Communities

Purpose - The purpose of this research aimed to identify the risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and determine their prevalence and characteristics in a semi-urban community in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach - The survey was designed to determine the type and prevalence of risk factors for NCDs among populations in semi-urban areas in the Takianleurn subdistrict of Nakhonsawan, Thailand. Astratified random sampling design was used to select 352 subjects, aged over 15 years and living in this region. Data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed to show frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-squared, prevalence rate and prevalence rate ratio with significance indicated by p-value < 0.05 and confidence interval 95 percent. Research limitations/implications - The implications for the future study are as follows: (1) a comparative study between rural and urban or rural and semi-urban or urban and semi-urban should be studied to understand how risk factors cause NCDs and (2) Participatory action research should be introduced to assess the effectiveness of the decrease in NCDs risk factors management in the community. Practical implications - (1) To scale up public health interventions measures to promote and prevent NCDs should be focused on behavioral risk factors of NCDs such as eating habits, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. (2) Health promotion and disease prevention for decrease in NCDs should consist of reducing alcohol consumption and enhancing healthy eating habits and (3) To manage unmodified risk factors such as age, gender, educational level, etc. should be focused on surveillance and physical health examination yearly. Findings - The results revealed a prevalence of NCDs of 14.8 percent. The main unmodifiable risk factors affecting NCD prevalence were gender, age, low level of education and poverty; behavioral risk factors included not eating enough fruit and vegetables, high alcohol consumption, a high-fat fast-food diet and smoking. Originality/value - The prevention of NCDs requires more focus on changing the eating behavior of high-risk groups and providing easily accessible health care information and services. The entire family should be involved in the process of maintaining good health and disease prevention for all family members.