Lifestyle and Health Care of the Western Husbands in Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province,Thailand
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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. Keywords: Lifestyle, health care, Western husbands Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 749 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) Background Cross-cultural marriages increasingly prevalent in Thailand today, especially in many provinces of the North East ,such as Udorn Thani Province that the findings of the study discovered that there were up to 5,700 foreign spouses from 33 countries living in the province. Most of them were German, British, American, Australian and French, and they had an average monthly income of about 100,000 baht. The study also found they met their wives through matchmaking companies, the internet and friends or relatives. There are currently around 50,000 Thai women married to German men, 30,000 married to French men, 30,000 to Americans, 25,000 to Australians, 10,000 to Britons, 8,742 to Swedes, 7,937 to Taiwanese, 3,000 to Austrians, 2,891 to Finns and 1,086 to Danes, according to statistics compiled by the Foreign Ministry. (Somkid Homnet, 2013).And the other study reveals that life of the couple after marriage can be categorized in 4 types; 1.Both husbands and wives lived in the wives' villages or the wives still living in hometown village.2. Both wives and husbands lived in metropolitan Thailand. 3. Husbands lived with their wives' families in Thailand. 4. Wives lived abroad with their husbands. Most are found in the second and third type. (Buapan Prompakping, et al, 2006:104-105). An also, the studied has found that, most of the Western husbands are retired and live with their wives in the rural area. Also, interestingly, these men are usually 8-10 years older than their Thai wives, and are either divorced from their western wives or widowed. Inevitably, these men are left to spend their lives alone as their children left them to have their own families, making these men feel lonely. These western men are from UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France and mostly other countries. Most of them are diagnosed with illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. The reason which these Western men gave for marrying Thai women was that they are well looked after and got the best care from Thai wives. If they were sick, Thai wives would take them to the doctor and served as an interpreter to communicate with the doctor about their illness and, upon returning home, Thai wives would follow the doctor's advice such as cooking what is appropriate to the disease of the Western husbands. Another reason why they prefer to live in Thailand is because of a low cost of living (due to the exchange rate of Thai baht lower than the western money), so that the western men have enough money to live permanently in a Thai village. (Rujee Charupash,2 010).Therefore, the researcher was interested to study the Western husbands who come to live permanently in Thailand Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 750 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) with a rural lifestyle in the rural and how they provide for their health care under different social and cultural . Objectives To study lifestyle and health care of the Western husbands who live permanently in villages with their Thai wife permanently in Kumphawapi Ddistrict, Udon Thani Province. The benefits of this study The benefits of this study were that the information can be used in teaching students who, after graduation will work in the health services areas where the Western husbands live. Conceptual Framework The purpose of this study is to understand the lifestyle of the Western husbands who live with Thai wives in the context of rural village of Kumphawapi District,Udon Thani Province including occupation, accommodation and environmental conditions and their health care issues in 5 areas; 1.Food and drug consumption 2.Physical exercise 3. Stress management4.Disease prevention and health promotion 5.Environmental management. Research Methodology Area of study The 3 villages specific area of Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province in which there are the largest number of the Western husbands who have been living with Thai wives for at least 1 year. Key informant A researcher recruited the key informants with purposive sampling in which by the health officer of the Tumtai’s sub district health promotion hospital, Kumphawapi District,UdornThani Province, who contacted with Thai wives of the Western husbands . The researcher began interviewing with the 1st voluntary interviewee, then using snowball sampling technique by which the 1st voluntary interviewee contacts to the 2nd voluntary interviewee who is foreigner living in the same village or nearby and are Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 751 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) willing to be interviewed provide data then the 2nd did the same things to the 3rd until the 5th, which has a total of 5 cases. Therefore, the sample size will depend on the willingness of interviewers to refer the researcher to friend and acquaintances. Data collection and analysis Collected data were analyzed from November 2014 to March 2015 ,at 3 villages such as, M.3 Ban Tumtai,M.5 Ban Nonchuppa and M.6 Ban Huikogsri,Kumphawapi District, Udorn Thani Province. Data were collected by non-participant observations and in- depth interviews. Primary Qualitative Data from observations and interviews on the topic of lifestyle and the health care of the Western husband ‘s data were reviewed by Methodological Triangulation then, the analysis Typological Analysis, presented a descriptive. (Nanknoy Yanvare,2010). Findings 1. Generalization of the Western husband It has been found that, of all 5 the Western husbands, the oldest of them is aged 64 and the youngest aged 34.They are from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Israel .Their former occupations include plumber, office workers, business owners and tax collectors. Upon retirement or removal from office of then they found themselves alone in the house or in homes for the elderly, due to being divorced from their wives. If they continued to live in their home country, they have to find additional income because of high cost of living and they have the underlying diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. They have received information about Thailand and how to find Thai wife from the neighbor who has a Thai wife and that he talk about Thailand should remain able to live safely with the modern facilities that they can contact their relatives or children when needed, Thailand has the beautiful sea, and the delicious food, Thailand's weather is not very cold, it could not be depressing like their country when the winter comes, it is very cold and has a dismal long night, otherwise; there is a low cost of living and Thai Bath is low compared with the value of their own money. They feel that Thai wives can be both wife and care giver when they are sick. Furthermore, their lives in rural area are warm because of their wives’ relatives a lot who take great care to great importance to themselves, even as the western men. Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 752 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) 2. The lifestyle of the Western husbands In a daily life, they has low cost of living in the villages, some days they have to pay for anything, because their own home-grown rice and vegetables, were enough to eat. These make it possible to live on pensions or savings that are sufficient for monthly expenditure. It is enough to share with relatives of Thai wife. And the Western husbands said again “I think that I’ll not return to my home country (Norway and Denmark) again.