The Role and Participation in The Ottawa Charter for People’s Health Promotion of Buddhist Monks and Novices Stay in The Developed Model Buddhist Temples in Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

This Cross sectional research aims to; study the roles and participation of the monks and novices staying at developed model temples in promoting health according to Ottawa Charter and the relation between the assessment criteria of health promotion of public health ministry and developed model temples selected by National Office of Buddhism. Samples were 405 monks and novices who were eighteen years old up.  The tools used to collect data were questionnaire (Reliability: .871), Focus group interview and the assessment form. The data were then analyzed by using frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistics, and
Chi – square analysis.

The results of the study showed that status, educational background, the channels to receive information about health, the frequency of receiving health news, having a daily five food groups, the ability to control emotion and mind and the roles and participations of the study subjects in promoting health according to The Ottawa Charter were statistically significant at .001 and period of staying in the temples and participations of the study subjects in promoting health according to The Ottawa Charter were statistically significant at .05. According to the result, it is certainly that the Buddhist priests are good leaders on promoting public health if they are properly trained by public health personnel in accordance with their disciplines. Furthermore, the new finding was that the developed model temples were fundamentally qualified in accordance with the assessment criteria of public health ministry.  In conclusion, the developed model temples should be guaranteed as fundamental health promoting temples according to the criteria of public health ministry.