7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) Lifestyle and Health Care of the Western Husbands in Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province,Thailand 1. Mrs.Rujee Charupash, M.A. (Sociology), B.sc. (Nursing), Sirindhron College of Public Health, Khon Kaen. (Lecturer),
[email protected] Abstract This qualitative research aims to study lifestyle and health care of Western husbands who married Thai wives and live in Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province. Five samples were purposively selected and primary qualitative data were collected through non-participant observations and in-depth interviews. The data was reviewed by Methodological Triangulation; then, the Typological Analysis was presented descriptively. Results: 1) Lifestyle of the Western husbands: In daily life, they had low cost of living in the villages and lived on pensions or savings that are only sufficient. Accommodation and environmental conditions, such as mothers’ modern western facilities for their convenience and overall surroundings are neat and clean. 2) Health care: the Western husbands who have diabetes, hypertension and heart disease were looked after by Thai wives to maintain dietary requirements of the disease. Self- treatment occurred via use of the drugstore or the local private clinic for minor illnesses. If their symptoms were severe or if they needed a checkup, they used the services of a private hospital in Udon Thani Province. They used their pension and savings for medical treatments. If a treatment expense exceeded their budget, they would go back to their own countries. Recommendations: The future study should focus on official Thai wives whose elderly Western husbands have underlying chronic diseases in order to analyze their use of their health care services, welfare payments for medical expenses and how the disbursement system of Thailand likely serves elderly citizens from other countries.