Parenting within the Public Health System in Thailand

Project outline

Overview

Parenting within the Public Health System in Thailand is a Global Parenting Initiative core study examining how evidence-based parenting support can be integrated into routine public health delivery. The project focuses on Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes, including PLH for Young Children and ParentChat, and asks what is needed for these programmes to be delivered, supervised and sustained through government health services.

The project builds on earlier work adapting and testing Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children within Thailand's public health system. It now examines what is needed for Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes, to be delivered, supervised and sustained through government health services.

The project is led by the Peace Culture Foundation in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, nursing colleges and provincial health offices. The work focuses on three strands: delivery of PLH for Young Children through routine health services, testing of a blended ParentChat programme delivered by nurses, and development of digital and data systems, including ChildShield. The project contributes to GPI’s wider research on how parenting programmes can move from evidence-based interventions to routine delivery and scale through government systems.  

Significance

This project is one of the clearest examples of parenting support moving from intervention research into public-system delivery. Public health systems can reach families at scale, but sustainable delivery requires more than an effective curriculum. It requires trained staff, supervision, data systems, referral pathways, government ownership and evidence on cost.

The Thailand project contributes directly to these questions by examining whether PLH can be delivered through government health structures and what systems are needed to sustain positive parenting support over time. Its relevance increased further following Thailand’s legal prohibition of corporal punishment in 2025, which created demand for practical, evidence-based alternatives to violent discipline. The project is therefore helping inform how legal reform can be translated into routine services that support families and prevent violence against children. 

Implementation

The project embedded PLH for Young Children within routine health services in Northern and Northeastern Thailand. It also tested a blended ParentChat model for low-income families in rural Northeast Thailand, delivered through two in-person sessions and seven sessions via LINE chat groups.

The team developed ChildShield, a digital referral and monitoring system that helps public services identify families who may benefit from parenting support, connect them to appropriate programmes, and track participation and outcomes. ChildShield links parenting programme monitoring with Thailand’s Health Information System and UNICEF’s Primero case management system, helping frontline services identify vulnerable families and monitor referrals more effectively. By embedding these functions within existing government systems, it supports the integration of parenting support into routine public health and child protection services and helps ensure that support reaches families with the greatest needs.

Findings

The project generated evidence across two complementary areas of research.

Published costing analyses examined the costs and budget implications of scaling up Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children through Thailand's public health system. Provider costs were estimated at approximately US$82–195 per caregiver and societal costs at US$262–300 per caregiver, depending on the implementation scenario. The study also highlighted the importance of sustainable financing and political commitment for wider implementation.

The project also generated important learning on the implementation of blended digital parenting programmes through routine public health services. A trial of ParentChat, combining in-person sessions with facilitator-led LINE messaging groups, identified areas for further refinement of programme content and delivery before wider implementation.

Partners and setting

The project is led by the Peace Culture Foundation with partners including Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, Boromarajonani Nursing College, Chiang Mai University, Chulalongkorn University, provincial health offices and UNICEF-linked child protection systems.