Abstract
Approximately 1.3 million people have been registered as persons with disabilities (PWDs) according
to the Persons with Disabilities’ Quality of Life Promotion Act (2007) of Thailand. There have been a
number of regulations across multiple governmental organizations launched as following actions recommended
by the United Nation Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. There were, however,
quite a few rehabilitation projects implemented by local level policies. One possible reason could be the
lack of comprehensive database which can be shared among different organizations providing rehabilitation
services for people in need. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
(ICF) was introduced by the World Health Organization to be used to record functions and levels of disabilities
in a person. The author applied a questionnaire based on the concept and ICF classification system
in face-to-face interviews with 328 PWDs in the Mahasarakham Municipality. Database comprised of
types of impairment, ability to perform activities of daily living, needs for education, vocation, social
participation and benefits entitled. The database can be used to develop individual multidisciplinary
rehabilitation plans which could be regularly monitored and evaluated whether rehabilitation goals are
achieved. The database should be user-friendly, easily accessible and timely updated. Another factor that
should be created is an organization perform as a coordinator across multiple organization to emphasize
the success of the improvement of PWDs’ quality of life.
