Prevention and Control Measures of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in Mueang Phitsanulok District, Thailand

Abstract

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a contagious viral infection, primarily in infants and children aged younger than 5 yr. HFMD has been widely spread in Asia. Of the infected children, approximately 83% were caused by Coxsackievirus A16 and were relatively mild, but serious complications involving the central nervous system can occur due to Enterovirus 71. The purpose of this study was to develop social measures to prevent and control HFMD in Muang Phitsanulok District, Thailand. The multistage mixed method was conducted from February–December 2021 on 436 participants. Multiple regression was used to analyze the factors affecting HFMD prevention and control behaviors in the first phase, which were the caregiver’s attitude, family income, caregiver’s secondary education, and awareness of the disease situation. For the next step, the findings were taken back to communities and the social measures developed through community participation. The developed social measures were guideline-based and consisted of two parts: prevention and control of disease measures. The stakeholders were classified into five social sectors – including [1] caregiver; [2] nursery, early childhood development center, and kindergarten; [3] primary care unit; [4] the Bureau of Public Health and Environment Municipality; and [5] private sector. The social measures were considered in credibility and feasibility by nine experts in a connoisseurship seminar. Finally, the expert opinions were made congruent for all measures. The recommendation for improving HFMD prevention and control in the community is for low-income groups to support and promote HFMD prevention and control behaviors. All relevant sectors should conference together to inform the results of their operations and collaborative problems solving. In addition, effective communication channels should be developed for all sectors.