Publication: Building tobacco control research in Thailand : meeting the need for innovative change in Asia
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Accepted Date
2012-01-28
Issued Date
2012-01-28
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eng
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application/pdf
No. of Pages/File Size
250 kb
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Mahidol University.
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BioMed Central
Bibliographic Citation
Health Research Policy and Systems. Vol.10, No.1 (2012), 1-8
Suggested Citation
Hamann, Stephen L, Mock, Jeremiah, Hense, Sibasis, Naowarut Charoenca, Nipapun Kungskulniti, เนาวรัตน์ เจริญค้า, นิภาพรรณ กังสกุลนิติ Building tobacco control research in Thailand : meeting the need for innovative change in Asia. Health Research Policy and Systems. Vol.10, No.1 (2012), 1-8. doi:10.1186/1478-4505-10-3 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/2178
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Title
Building tobacco control research in Thailand : meeting the need for innovative change in Asia
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Abstract
Introduction: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past two decades locally relevant tobacco control research has been scant. Experience shows that tobacco control measures should be based on sound research findings to ensure that measures are appropriate for local conditions and that they are likely to have an impact. Research should also be integrated within tobacco control measures to ensure ongoing learning and the production of knowledge. Thailand, a middle-income country, has a public health community with a record of successful tobacco control and a longstanding commitment to research. Thailand’s comprehensive approach includes taxation; bans on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion; smoke-free areas; graphic cigarette pack warnings; social marketing campaigns; cessation counseling; and an established tobacco control research
program. The purpose of this study was to document and analyze the development of tobacco control research capacity in Thailand and the impact of research on Thai tobacco control measures.Method: We used mixed methods including review of historical documentation and policy reports, qualitative
interviews with key members of Thailand’s tobacco control community, and an analysis of research productivity. Findings: In Thailand, tobacco control research has evolved through three phases: (1) discovery of the value of research in the policymaking arena, (2) development of a structure to support research capacity building through
international collaborations supported by foreign funding agencies, and (3) delivery of locally relevant research made possible largely through substantial stable funding from a domestic health promotion foundation. Over two decades, Thai tobacco control advocates have constructed five steppingstones to success: (1) adapting foreign research to inform policymaking and lobbying for more support for domestic research; (2) attracting foreign
funding agencies to support small-scale research and capacity building; (3) participating in multi-country research
and capacity building programs; (4) using collaborative experiences to demonstrate the need for domestic support of locally relevant research; and (5) maintaining an unwavering commitment to research while being vigilant to ensure continued research support.
Conclusion: The evolution of tobacco control research in Thailand provides examples of steppingstones that LMICs may be able to use to construct their own tobacco control research pathways.
Sponsorship
This research was supported by a grant from the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center, a research institute supported by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and located at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Public Health, Bangkok, Thailand.