當人們逐漸重視飲食、壓力抒發時，這已經表現出對健康人生充滿憧憬。選擇遠離都市、享受清靜的休閒活動時，這些都已經隱含對「健康促進」需求的渴望。本研究希望就日治時期迄今仍留存的溫泉公共浴室，以田野調查的方式，對公共浴室的管理者及長期泡湯者進行訪談，蒐集對溫泉公共浴室使用的看法和溫泉泡湯健康促進的認知來進行研究，進而討論溫泉公共浴室迄今仍然存在的文化底蘊及其價值所在。
台灣溫泉公共浴場開始是為了改善台灣人的生活習性，照護民眾的健康而設置。實際赴各地觀察時，發現溫泉公共浴室的使用者人數遠超過原先的想像。公共浴室不僅具有著提供民眾沐浴與休憩養生的功能，部分的公共浴室在當地居民的生活中，更扮演著不可或缺的社交角色。在四重溪公共溫泉浴室的實地訪談中，可以觀察到受訪者泡湯前與泡湯後的明顯變化。受訪者皆認同長期泡溫泉不但能使心靈放鬆而且對本身有極大助益。咸認必須透過大家的共同努力，設法把溫泉公共浴室這麼好的設施妥善地保留下來。現今政府單位對溫泉資源的利用較以往大為重視，但主要的重點乃著重於溫泉資源的管理與利用、溫泉休憩價值的推廣與行銷，對整體溫泉文化的有系統保存頗為不足，這應是未來政府更需加強之處。 When people attach increasing importance to diet and are inclined to release great pressure, it has shown that they have a great longing for healthy life. When they choose to go away from the cities to enjoy the peace and quiet leisure life, it has implied their thirst for “health promotion”. Aimed at the hot spring public bathhouse preserved from the Period of Japanese Occupation until now, this research hoped to interview the managers and hot spring bathers of public bathhouse by means of field investigation and the opinions on the use of hot spring public bathhouse and the cognition of health promotion of hot spring bath were collected to carry out the research, so as to further discuss the cultural deposits and value still existing in hot spring public bathhouse.
The hot spring public bathhouse in Taiwan was originally set up for the purpose of improving Taiwanese life habits and caring for people’s health. During the observation in various places, it was found that the number of users of hot spring public bathhouse is far beyond the imagination. The bathhouse provides the public with the functions of bathing, rest and health care and meanwhile some of them play an indispensable social role in the local resident’s life. During the on-the-spot interview in the hot spring public bathhouse of Sihchong River, the significant changes in interviewees can be observed before and after the hot spring bathing. The interviewees believed that long-term hot spring bath can not only relax themselves mentally but also help themselves a lot. The interviewees thought that we must try our best to preserve the public bathhouse properly. Nowadays, compared with the past, the governmental units attach greater importance to the utilization of hot spring resources, but they emphasize the management and utilization of the hot spring resources. On the other hand, the promotion and marketing in resting value of the hot spring is insufficient to preserve the whole hot spring culture in a systematic way, which also needs to be strengthened by the government in the future.
