[Introduction and evaluation of the international training program for primary health care in Thailand]

Since 1987 the international training course on primary health care (PHC) in Thailand has been offered six times by the ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Thailand. The main objective of the training was to enhance the understanding of Japanese and Thai students and junior health and social scientists regarding health problems in Thailand, their social, economic and political backgrounds and PHC activities. The course content consisted of lectures regarding the health care delivery system and the PHC activities including on-site visits, field visit to urban and rural areas and small group discussions on the health problems in these areas, home stay at the rural village, and discussion on health and social development in Thailand. The training course was evaluated by the participants both at the end of the course and after one year. Almost all of the participants reported that they were provided with valuable experiences by the course. After one year, all of the participants that responded to the evaluation questionnaire stated that their attitude to social problems had been influenced by the training.