The impact of digital channels on public health services to enhance city resilience during the public health emergency response in Thailand (2020–2023)

Abstract

BackgroundThis study examines the impact of digital channels on public healthservices and their role in enhancing city resilience.MethodsConducted in Thailand, this study employed an online questionnairedistributed in both Thai and English from December 2023 to February 2024. Atotal of 824 valid responses from Thai nationals and foreigners were analyzed.Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structuralequation modeling were performed using IBM SPSS 23 and AMOS 23.ResultsDigital channels have a strong positive direct effect on public healthservices (β = 0.70, p < 0.001), public health serviceshave a strong positive direct effect on resilient cities (β = 0.69, p < 0.001),and digital channels have a low positive direct and a moderate positiveindirect effect on resilient cities (β = 0.19, p < 0.001,and β = 0.48, p < 0.001, respectively). The modeldemonstrated excellent fit with the empirical data: X2/df = 2.189,CFI = 0.954, GFI = 0.900, NFI = 0.919, TLI = 0.946, RMSEA = 0.038, andRMR = 0.047.ConclusionsDigital channels are critical tools for collecting, analyzing, anddisseminating public health service data. They improve public health servicesacross five dimensions—product, facility, service, process, and price—whilealso strengthening city resilience in disaster management, economic stability,quality of life, and institutional capacity.