Culturally‐Tailored Health Literacy: A Pilot Study of VHV‐Led Cannabis Harm Reduction Under Nursing Supervision in Rural Northern Thailand

ABSTRACT Thailand's cannabis policy transition created a knowledge vacuum regarding the boundaries between authorized medicinal use and non‐medical consumption, thereby increasing misuse risks. This study evaluated a culturally‐tailored medicinal cannabis health literacy program delivered by Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) under public health nursing supervision as a community‐based harm reduction strategy. An exploratory sequential mixed‐methods design was employed in Northern Thailand. Phase 1 surveyed baseline health literacy (). Phase 2 involved focus groups to co‐design the intervention based on initial findings. Phase 3 was a quasi‐experimental pilot study comparing an experimental group () with a control group () at a 3‐month follow‐up. Baseline findings showed 72.8% of the community had inadequate cannabis health literacy. Post‐intervention, the experimental group achieved a significantly higher overall health literacy score than the control group (), primarily accounted for by superior scores in information access (), communication (), and self‐management (). A culturally adapted program delivered through trusted VHV infrastructure, managed within a nursing supervisory framework, provides a promising proof of concept for establishing superior cannabis‐related literacy compared to standard community care. This model offers a replicable blueprint for community‐based prevention in response to evolving cannabis policies globally.