OBJECTIVE

This study analyzed the factors influencing the implementation of the disability benefit package for children with developmental disabilities (CDDs) in the Philippines.

Data collection was done through document review of policy documents and focused group discussions (FGDs). Guided by Walt and Gilson’s policy triangle framework, data were analyzed through content analysis.

Twenty-two (22) policy documents were reviewed and a total of 16 participants joined the FGDs. Facilitators and barriers were identified and categorized through the policy elements: 1) context is anchored by presence of laws and policies but is hindered by issues on politics, governance, and labor force; 2) policy actors are hopeful in the continuous implementation of the policy but there is a lack of participation from all potential policy actors and limitations with human resources; 3) content is sound and comprehensive but there are costing issues and compliance concerns with requirements; and 4) processes emphasize quality assurance and promising initial dissemination efforts but the lack of stakeholder engagement activities and the tediousness of requirements discourage potential service providers.

While the launch of the disability benefit package for CDDs in the Philippines seemed promising, the policy remains underutilized as the identified barriers outweigh the facilitators. Specific recommendations for the improvement and implementation of the benefit package were outlined and framed based on the policy triangle framework.

Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest ; Heart Arrest ; Policy ; Covid-19 ; Pandemics

Health Policy ; Health ; Policy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional strain to health workers in the Philippines, leading to a significant proportion of them leaving the workforce. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the pandemic on health workers, the support that they received and associated challenges; and identify relevant policies for better workplace conditions.

An environmental scanning method was utilized. Particularly, a literature review and policy scan that were validated through key informant interviews with administrators and frontline health workers from selected urban and rural sites in the three main islands in the Philippines. These were framed into a background note to springboard the discussions during a national policy dialogue participated by representatives from key government organizations, professional organizations of physicians, nurses, and midwives, professional regulatory bodies, hospital administrators, frontline health workers, and donor agencies in the Philippines.

Deaths, burn-out, mental health problems, lack of personal protective equipment and poor allocation of vaccines were reported in the early phases of the pandemic. Support varied across settings but included additional allowance, free meals, accomodation, transportation, training and psychosocial services. Furthermore, pre-pandemic issues such as as low salaries and heavy workload continue to be the main reasons for leaving the workforce or the country. The proposed solutions are as follows: (1) creating policies and strategies for appropriate production, recruitment, and retention of human resources for health; (2) allocating regular permanent positions for both the education and health sector; (3) augmenting and continuation of deployment programs; (3) expanding roles of nurses to push for advanced practice nursing; (4) providing fair compensation along with risk allowances, non-financial incentives, and expanded benefits; (5) supporting mental health wellness by providing an appropriate work-rest balance and safe work environment; (6) providing opportunities for professional development and scholarships with accompanying return-service agreement; and (7) strengthening the reintegration programs for returning overseas health workers.

The pandemic has affected the well-being of health workers and disparities in support were reported due to longstanding workplace issues and policy implementation gaps. Stakeholder commitments require sustained monitoring while policies that are in place and yet to be developed demand stronger support from the government, members of Congress, the private sector, and other key decision-makers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Public health nurses (PHNs) perform more than the provision of direct care to clients. They are also expected to perform roles as leaders, managers, and collaborators in different settings, especially in areas where there are no physicians. Their continuous professional development must be facilitated to empower them to lead the delivery of health programs and services in pursuit of universal healthcare. This study aims to determine the perceived competencies of public health nurses and describe their training needs.

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was utilized, where an online survey was administered to PHNs across the Philippines to determine their self-perceived competencies and training needs based on the eight domains of core competencies of public health professionals. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data.

A total of 330 PHNs answered the survey. The results showed that at baseline, PHNs perceived themselves to be competent (from most to least) in the following: communication, analytical/assessment, community dimensions of practice, policy development/ program planning, leadership and systems thinking, cultural competency skills, public health science, and financial planning and management. In terms of training needs, the enablers mentioned include a supportive work environment that can provide a work schedule that is inclusive of time for professional development and work-life balance; a learning environment where colleagues and supervisors support the need for training and innovation; strong internet connection; and enough equipment to participate and submit deliverables for courses taken.

Filipino public health nurses perceived themselves to be competent in the areas of communication and community practice, but less competent in public health science, and financial planning and management. Future capacity-building programs must be designed to meet this demand. Furthermore, to make training programs truly responsive to the needs of nurses, steps must be taken to promote capacity-building enablers.

Innovation is an important way to promote economic development and social progress. Recent years have seen rapid development of biological sciences. In response to social demands and the needs for developing an innovative country, fostering innovative talents in the field of biosciences has become a significant initiative supported by national policies and the needs from talent market. Taking the innovative talent training mode implemented by Zhejiang Normal University in the field of biological sciences as an example, this paper comprehensively introduces several key aspects of the mode. This includes establishing a mentorship system as the foundation, carrying out curriculum reform through project competitions and practical platforms, and promoting synergy among industry, academia, and research in talent training. This training mode has achieved positive results in practice, promoting the training of outstanding innovative talents in biological science majors, and may facilitate the reform of talent training in similar majors.
Humans ; Biological Science Disciplines ; Industry ; Policy ; Universities

OBJECTIVES

PhilHealth’s present health benefit scheme is largely centered on in-patient services. This inadvertently incentivizes hospital admissions for increased access to benefit coverage. To address this problem, this study proposes a costing method to comprehensively finance outpatient care. The objective of this paper is to estimate an annual primary care benefit package (PCBP) cost based on experience analysis (actual benefit usage) on the first year of implementation at an urban pilot site.

A cost analysis was conducted to assess a disease-agnostic primary care benefit package for an urban outpatient government facility over the first year of implementation. Costing information was gathered through staff interviews, accounting documents, and usage data from the electronic health records system available on-site.

The annual primary care cost was defined as the estimated financial coverage for eligible employees and their eligible dependents (n=15,051). The annual utilization rate for consultations was reported at 51%. Of patients who consulted, approximately 38% accessed free available diagnostic procedures and 48% availed of free available medicines. Based on these usage rates, the annual primary care cost for the first year was computed at PhP 403.22 per capita.

Our study shows that on the first year of coverage in a government run urban outpatient facility, an allocation of PhP 403.22 per capita can allow coverage for a disease-agnostic package (comprehensive); this amount excludes out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the target population of this study. This amount is feasible only when coopted with opportunistic registration, reduction of untargeted check-ups, prior contextual community engagement, and streamlining of patient-transactions through an electronic health record (EHR).

BACKGROUND

Family and Community Medicine is a medical specialty that plays a crucial role in the healthcare system and will be in the best capacity to provide primary care services, coordinate referrals to specialists when needed, and promote continuity of care across different healthcare settings in the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law. These are policy recommendations on how family and community medicine can play a significant role in the successful implementation of the UHC.

Recommendation #1. The undergraduate curriculum in Family and Community Medicine must be competency based.

Recommendation #2. The competency outcome of Family and Community Medicine undergraduate curriculum must be aligned with the need of the Philippine health system in the context of Universal Health Care reform.

Recommendation #3. The process of delivery of Family and Community Medicine undergraduate curriculum must adopt to new technology and teaching innovation.

Recommendation #4. Family and Community Medicine must develop strategies to make it as career choice.

Recommendation #5. Family and Community Medicine must develop and implement an effective and sustainable faculty development program.

Recommendation #6. Family and Community Medicine must be socially accountable to the community it serves.

Recommendation #7. Family and Community Medicine must be one of the major core competencies of a licensed physician ready to practice as primary care provider in the UHC.

Recommendation #8. Early placement for Family and Community Medicine practice must be available for newly licensed physicians.

Recommendation #9. Family and Community Medicine practitioners must be provided with continuing professional education and training to provide quality patient care.

Recommendation #10. Family and Community Medicine postgraduate education and training must adopt to new technology and training innovation.

Recommendation #11. Family and Community Medicine postgraduate training should cover urban and rural community health service.

Recommendation #12. Family and Community Medicine continuing professional education and training programs must meet the prescribed standards.

Recommendation #13. Regulation of Family and Community Medicine practice must be a public-private partnership.

Introduction: Access to appropriate and timely care underpins the Republic Act 9707 or the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 2009. However, less than 10% of babies born every year have been screened for hearing loss. The Hearing for Life (HeLe) research program aims to increase the rate of newborn hearing screening (NHS) nationwide through the development and deployment of novel digital health or eHealth technologies in government rural primary care health centers (PCHC). The HeLe is also built on the global call for increased and systematic use of eHealth to strengthen health systems. Effectiveness of eHealth innovations requires acknowledgment of the product’s life cycle; one consideration is organizational readiness at this development stage of the HeLe. Objective: This study assessed readiness of the eight PCHC selected to use the HeLe technologies. Methods: This research utilized the Khoja-Durrani-Scott (KDS) eHealth evaluation tool to assess the PCHC’s readiness level prior to the implementation of HeLe. The KDS tool was distributed through a self-administered survey; data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Readiness is measured in terms of seven dimensions or outcomes resulting from the use of the HeLe technologies. Results: The study revealed that the eight PCHC were most to least ready, in decreasing order, in the following areas: Ethical, Health, Technology, Social & Cultural, Readiness & Change Management, as well as Economic, and Policy outcomes. The study affirms the PCHCs’ value for equity in health care, i.e., providing accessible NHS services in the community setting closest to where the families and their newborns are. Likewise, results confirm the PCHC staff’s preparedness for another set of innovations, through agreement with statements on Technology, Social & Cultural as well as Readiness & Change Management parameters. Conclusions The results informed the training and technical support strategies to be implemented by the HeLe program proponents. However, even in this early development phase of the HeLe technologies, the PCHC are already concerned with how to sustain NHS services after the research. Fully aware that the HeLe ICT tools need to be maintained and upgraded, the PCHC views that economic and policy support should also be in place to ensure continuous delivery of the ICT-enabled NHS services. While results are illustrative, usefulness is limited by the small sample size and character of the study sites. Nevertheless, social dimensions still have to be carefully considered as innovative NHS tools are introduced to primary care health workers nationwide. Researchers have to be deliberate in working with broader health systems and policy advocacy efforts to allow novel NHS technologies to be smoothly introduced at the community level and frontlines of care.
Telemedicine ; Health ; Technology ; Change Management ; Policy ; Ethics ; Primary Health Care

Introduction: Accidents are unpredictable and sometimes unavoidable. Businesses such as shopping complexes need to follow safety protocols to ensure that nobody is hurt. The shopping complex should have preventive measures and an accident management team to offer efficient and timely treatment for these accident victims. Objective: This paper aims to identify problems experienced by the accident management team in dealing with accidents in a shopping complex. The report will also propose and implement solutions to all issues identified. Methods: Two action research cycles were conducted for this paper, with the results of the first action research flowing into the second action research cycle. Reeves et al.’s interprofessional teamwork framework addressed concerns related to teamwork. The data used in this action research came from journal entries, informal and formal one-on-one discussions, and discussions with each department. Results: The workflow for the current post-accident management activities was evaluated. The problems identified were grouped into 5: roles and responsibilities, procedures, knowledge transfer, logistics, and skills. The issues concerning the roles and responsibilities of each team member were addressed by realigning these with their current skills, training, and job description. The remaining and new problems were addressed by developing an accident management policy. Inclusions in the policy are protocols on transporting patients, communication and transportation procedures, letter of authorization (LOA) approval procedures, post-accident evaluation procedures, pre-accident recommendations, policy revision procedures to address organizational changes, changes in the job description or government regulatory mandates, and the evaluation of current skills in case training is needed. Conclusion Accident management requires a coordinated effort amongst all the team members, with members from different social and health specialties. Using Reeves et al.’s interprofessional teamwork framework, the team identified the problems and implemented solutions by realigning the roles and responsibilities of each team member and implementing an accident management policy that can improve preventive measures and improve post-accident responses.
policy development ; accountability ; action research ; risk management