Policy Brief: Issue 46: National Health Examination Survey in Thailand Looking to the Past to Build a Better Future

The evaluation of public health in Thailand is conducted via the National Health Examination Survey (NHES). This programme has been implemented since 1991 and serves as an important source of health data due to comprehensive and accurate medical examinations conducted by medical personnel – which are more precise than hospital reports or questionnaires completed by sample groups. An assessment of the NHES conducted by the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) in 2016-2017 concluded that the lack of governance and effective management resulted in many problems when conducting the survey, e.g. duplicate findings with other health surveys; survey results not being utilised to the fullest potential when drafting policies or conducting further studies; no plans for the long-term development of the survey in terms of regulations, research methods, tools, equipment, personnel, and the management of benefits. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI) should take the lead to address these issues and further develop the NHES by defining an appropriate strategy, creating tools to integrate various surveys, and coordinating with all relevant agencies.