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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of socio-demographic factors on ethnic tolerance (ET) and religious tolerance (RT) as well as the participation of the local community in peacebuilding in post-ethnic violent conflicts in a multi-cultural society.

This research was conducted in the rural areas of Indonesia, on the basis of an empirical study that was performed in Lampung, a province at the southern tip of Sumatra. Data were collected through a survey of 500 respondents from five districts susceptible to ethnic conflicts. From each district, two villages that experienced ethnic conflicts were chosen and from each village, 50 respondents were randomly selected. To strengthen the explanation of quantitative data, in-depth interviews were also conducted with another 50 residents, five informants from each of ten villages. Informants comprised community leaders or traditional leaders, local police officers, local military officers and district government officials.

First, the degree of tolerance is not specifically concentrated in the socio-demographic characteristics. Second, ET affects RT. Third, local community participation in peacebuilding in post-ethnic violent conflicts is not influenced by the socio-demographic characteristics but is influenced by ET and RT. The socio-cultural approach is the main strategy for peacebuilding in post-ethnic (and religious) conflicts in multi-cultural societies. The weakness of inter-ethnic relations soon improves in the post-peace period through the reconstruction of social and cultural factors to strengthen social cohesion and social capital at the local community level by involving various stakeholders

This paper is a valuable source of information regarding current research on the role of local communities in strengthening and building peace in post-ethnic violent conflicts in multi-cultural societies.

Hypertension is a common disease among elderly. Adherence to antihypertensive medication is a key predictor of optimal blood pressure control that prevents the risk of cardiovascular disease and potentially death. The purpose of this paper is to assess adherence to antihypertension and identify associated factors among the elderly in a rural area, Buengkan province, Thailand.

A health facilities based cross-sectional study was conducted in Buengkan district. A simple random sampling method was used to select 408 participants. A structured questionnaire adapted from the World Health Organization STEPwise approach was used to collect data. The medication adherence level was identified by pill count with percentage ⩾70 defined as good adherence. Descriptive and summary statistics were used. Bivariate analysis was done using Pearson’s χ² test, and multivariable analyses were also carried out.

A total of 408 (143 males and 265 females) elderly hypertension patients with uncontrolled blood pressure participated in this study. Most of the participants were found to have lower adherence to medication treatment (86.8 percent), whereas the remaining ones (13.2 percent) were found to have good adherence. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that having a daughter as a care taker (adjust odd ratio=7.99, 95% confidence interval: 1.23–51.778) was significantly associated with high medical adherence.

Hypertension medication adherence among elderly patients with uncontrolled blood pressure was poor. Having a care taker, especially a daughter, is a key to improve adherence. Effective strategy to improve adherence should focus on and involve family participation into the program.