Efficacy of Thai Traditional Medicines on Stress among University Students

Abstract

Objective: To assess efficacy of Thai traditional medicine modalities in reducing stress among undergraduate students in the Thai traditional medicine program, Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University[A1] , Thailand academic year of 2016. Method: In this one-group pretest-posttest study, 61 participants were trained in Thai massage, Thai art meditation, Ruesi Dudton (Thai hermit’s exercises). Data were collected by questionnaire. The mean scores of stress were compared using paired t test, independent t-test, where appropriate.Statistical significance was assumed at a confidence interval of 95%. Results: Before training, participants had moderate to high stress. After training, stress score decreased with statistical significance (P-value < 0.001). It was found that “Thai massage,”  “Thai art meditation,” and “Ruesi Dudton” were ranked as number 1, 2, and 3, respectively as the most modality used for stress management. Conclusion: Thai traditional medicine modalities could reduce students’ stress; hence, they should be implemented in other settings. Key words: Thai traditional medicine, Thai massage, Ruesi Dudton, Thai art meditation, stress management