PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ON SUBSTANCE USE AMONG MYANMAR MIGRANT WORKERS IN HAT YAI DISTRICT, SONGKHLA PROVINCE, THAILAND

Abstract

Substance use is a serious public health issue affecting millions of people worldwide, including migrants. However, there is limited data on substance use behaviors among Myanmar migrants in Thailand, particularly after the 2022 changes in cannabis and kratom use policy. Findings from such studies can provide useful basic information to stakeholders. This study aims to describe the prevalence of substance use among Myanmar migrant workers in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. This paper presents preliminary findings from an ongoing cross-sectional study examining the prevalence of mental and behavioral health outcomes among Myanmar Migrants in Southern Thailand. In this study, we collected data by asking migrant factory workers aged 18 years and older who were literate in Myanmar language to complete a self-administered questionnaire. At the time of writing, approximately 10% of data collection (n=64) had been completed. Our questionnaire included items pertaining to alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarette, kratom, and cannabis use. Exploratory results showed that most participants were male, with a mean age of 32 years, with middle school education or less. Commonly used substances among male participants included alcohol (38.8%), kratom (36.8%), and tobacco (16.7%). None of the female participants reported using any substance except alcohol. The finding that alcohol use was more common than smoking is consistent with previous studies, and relatively high kratom use may be explained by its cultural association of kratom in Southern Thailand. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size and preliminary nature of the data. As the survey was conducted among only factory workers in Southern Thailand, the lack of generalizability should also be considered in the interpretation of the study findings.