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cure peopleûs diseases in parallel with folk Auto-ethnography was used to express the
healers who attempt to reduce or lessen their authorûs own experiences about folk healers
patientsû suffering, as well as retain their own and the specific situation of the study site.
significant roles in serving communities in The authorûs personal profile marks approxi-
Surin Province. mately more than 20 years of working expe-
The author of this research study has rience with folk healers, both as an NGO staff
striven to gather information on how tradi- member and healer herself. Thus, in the study,
tional healers are well aware of AEC and glo- the auto-ethnography method put together

balization and of the impacts of these factors the experiences and information of informants
in Surin Province. The study also explores like links in a chain.
the extent to which local healers understand, As an in-depth interview is a key com-
realize, or are aware of the various changes ponent of qualitative research, it is important
resulting from globalization and those ex- to note that traditional healers are able offer
pected after the launch of AEC. The purposes access to individuals and their personal per-
of this study are to obtain information on how spectives. In-depth interviews conducted with
and what local traditional healers know about NGO staff member were carried out in order
AEC and globalization, as well as how they to seek the ways that they reflect on the re-
are aware of the impacts of AEC on tradi- search concept and offer views toward the
tional medicine, its cultural practices and community. Moreover, they are conducted to
knowledge, and understand how local tradi- gain understanding of the social dimension
tional practitioners are prepared for the forth- context regarding the changes related to
coming impacts associated with globalization globalization and AEC that will impact the

and AEC. working areas of the community, particularly
that of the traditional healers and their local
Methodology
wisdom.
This is a qualitative research study con- For the focus group discussions, numerous
ducted using the methods of in-depth inter- criteria were included on traditional Thai
views, auto-ethnography, and focus group masseurs who passed formal training as they
discussions. The auto-ethnographic research would have high-level experience with tech-
method was used for this research from Febru- niques and skills needed to heal patients as
ary to March 2013. This research method well transfer knowledge and technique to
enables deep understanding of the current others.

situation being explored through combina- This research was conducted in co-
tions of self-reflection and observation of the operation with traditional healers connected
culture, social life, and the political situation to or involved with the Tabalprai Herbal Cen-
affecting traditional healers in Surin Province. ter in Salakdai sub-district, Muaeng district