Women on the frontline of Covid-19: understanding local women village health volunteers in the northern province of Thailand

Abstract

Background This paper investigates the role of local women village health volunteers, women on the frontline, during COVID-19 in the northern province of Thailand. Methods This research employs a qualitative method with grounded-based analysis of primary data from in-depth interviews of 40 local women village health volunteers that were selected by a purposeful sampling of 10 key informants per district, live in 4 sub-districts in Chiang Mai, the northern province of Thailand: Suthep Subdistrict, Mae Hia Subdistrict, Fa Ham Subdistrict, and Tha Sala Subdistrict. Results The role of local women village health volunteers during COVID-19 is diverse, such as community health caregivers, the Surveillance and Rapid Response Team (SRRT), health facilitators and mediators, and the manager of community health funds and resources mobilization. Volunteering for local women in community health services at the local level, participating based on personal desire and foreseeable opportunities, could create meaningful participation for the local women in terms of empowering them and as a driver of local community (health) development. Conclusions Findings reveal that understanding local women’s perspectives on their roles could be made through the lens of the intersection of femininity, social role, motivation, and their contribution to their community.