Health promotion and disease prevention services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide survey from Thailand

Health promotion and disease prevention (P&P) are essential components of primary health care. This study investigated the coverage of P&P services and barriers to services among primary care units in Thailand before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted to compare the data from primary care units across the 13 health regions in two fiscal years: October 2018 to September 2019 (before the pandemic) and October 2019 to September 2020 (during the pandemic). A total of 340 primary care units responded to the questionnaire. While most participating primary care units provided basic P&P services (n = 327, 96.2%) and community-based P&P services (n = 244, 71.8%), fewer offered area-based P&P services (n = 120, 35.3%) for all target populations. The high coverage of basic P&P services remained in place during the pandemic, while coverage of community-based P&P services for vulnerable and at-risk populations improved during the pandemic. Area-based P&P services improved for pregnant and postpartum women, preschoolers, children and adolescents, adults, and older people. Lack of human resources, materials and equipment, and financial support were cited as the primary challenges to offering P&P services. The higher coverage of P&P services in several target populations during the pandemic contributed to a heavy workload. Effective resource allocation, capacity building, and support from relevant parties, such as government and local agencies, are required to maintain high P&P service coverage.