Cigarette smoking is considered to be the single most preventable cause of premature death and the most important challenge in primary care. The epidemic is already killing 20,000 Filipinos every year with the number of smoking-related deaths likely to rise steeply over the next few years. In other countries, ear acupuncture is a therapy frequently offered for this purpose. Uncontrolled studies with acupuncture have reported smoking cessation rates as high as 95 percent. There were no local studies found in the literature Objectives: The general objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of ear acupuncture plus structured counseling versus structured counseling alone in decreasing mean cigarette stick consumption among smokers consulting in the Family Medicine Clinic. Design: This was an open randomized controlled trial of adult smokers in the contemplation and planning stage of quitting smoking and consulting in the Family Medicine Out-patient Clinic. Ear acupuncture plus structured counseling or structured counseling alone were compared as to the mean cigarette sticks consumed per day at the end of two weeks, one month, two months and three months, as well as compared as to the quit rate at the end of the three months. Intervention: The structured counseling involved a patient-centered, brief but extensive health education and goal-setting. This was given to both the control and the treatment groups. The treatment group received additional six sessions of ear acupuncture treatment. Results: In terms of demographic profile and intention to quit at baseline, there were no significant differences between the two groups (p value.05) except with regards to gender differences (p value=.02). The average number of sticks consumed per day decreased in both groups after two weeks, one month, two months and three months, but with greater decrease in mean cigarette stick consumption in the treatment group across all follow-up periods (p=.01). Quit rate at the end of three months was found to be higher in the structured counseling plus ear acupuncture group (40 percent) as compared to structured counseling alone group (18 percent) but this was not statistically significant (p value.05) No ear acupuncture complications were found in the treatment group at the end of the three month observation period. Conclusion: Structured counseling and ear acupuncture, alone and in combination, is effective in decreasing the mean cigarette stick consumption per day. But the combination of structured counseling plus ear acupuncture is more effective in decreasing cigarette consumption than structured counseling alone among adult smokers consulting in the Family Medicine Out-patient Clinic. This can be a new strategy for smoking cessation for our Filipino patients.
Human ; Adult ; ACUPUNCTURE, EAR ; SMOKING CESSATION ; SMOKING

Objectives: A recent review on the status of Philippine ethnobotany showed the lack of ethnobotanical studies in the Visayas group of islands. The use of medicinal plants by the Eskaya, an Indigenous ethnic group in the province of Bohol in Visayas, Philippines, has not yet been documented. This study determines the ethnomedicinal knowledge of traditional healers in selected Eskaya communities in Bohol. Methods: Fifteen (15) Eskaya traditional healers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and the valuable medicinal plant species were identified through guided field walks. Informal group discussions with the community were also conducted. Moreover, the fidelity level, informant consensus factor (ICF), and use values (UV) were calculated. Results: Our results showed that the majority of the Eskaya healers belong to an older age group (38 – 71 years old). Eighty-five medicinal plants recorded belong to 44 plant families—with Family Lamiaceae having the highest number of species represented. The leaf is the most common plant part used for healing. Blumea balsamifera was an essential plant with a UV of 0.8. Cardiovascular diseases have the highest ICF values of 0.6, and the most common plants used for these diseases include Cymbopogon citratus, Zingiber officinale, and Luffa cylindrica. Conclusion Our study yielded a record of native and non-native medicinal plants used by the Eskaya healers. This initial listing is also their contribution to promoting medicinal plants that are accessible and abundant in their communities.
ethnobotany ; ethnopharmacology ; herbal medicine ; Philippines ; traditional medicine

Background: The practice of Family Medicine is important in the provision of primary health care. Family physicians (FPs) provide health services both in the public and private settings Objective: To describe the practice profiles and geographic aggregation of Filipino family physicians Methods: This study was a web-based cross-sectional design involving family physicians who are registered in the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians membership database. The questionnaire was semi-structured with 3 consecutive sections: consent form, basic demographics, practice profile of family physicians. Results: Overall, 95% (N=1357) of family physicians reported seeing patients in a health facility at least once a week. Thirty percent of physicians are from Luzon (N=426), 28% from the National Capital Region (N=395), 20% from the Visayas region (N=288) and 18% from Mindanao (N=261). There were more FPs who reported mixed-type clinical practice (51%) than those who were exclusively engaged in practice (49%). Involvement in the private sector was common among physicians who are in the clinics (59%), while employment in the public sector was commonly reported among those in mixed-type of practice (42%). Family physicians provide a wide range of clinical services including counselling, vaccinations, simple surgical excision, and palliative services. The average reported outpatient consultation fees of FPs was Php 321 (SD+120) per patient. Conclusion The practice profile of family physicians includes active clinical practice, employment in either the public or private sector, with a small fraction in solo clinic practice. The range of primary care services offered include management of chronic conditions, counselling, home visits, preventive care such as prenatal care, vaccinations and screening tests like pap smear
Physicians, Family ; Family Practice

OBJECTIVE

Epidemiological studies on the prevalence and management of depression are limited in the Philippines. This review aimed to assess the prevalence of depression in the Philippines and explore the distribution of patient journey touchpoints including awareness, screening, diagnosis, treatment, adherence, and remission of depression.

A structured literature search was conducted in the Medline, Embase, Biosis, and HERDIN PLUS databases to identify records published in English between 01 January 2010 and 31 December 2019 that reported key patient journey touchpoints in depression management in the Philippines. An unstructured literature search was conducted in public or government websites with no date restriction. Data from all sources were extracted and presented descriptively.

Of the 348 records retrieved, one article was included in the final analysis. The prevalence of depression was reported to be 3.34% in the Philippines. There was no data available on any of the identified patient journey touchpoints in depression.

The study findings highlight the need for more evidence-based studies in the Philippines to accurately understand the complexity of patient journey in patients with depression. This in turn can help in optimizing resource utilization, providing guidance for clinical practice, and health care reforms in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND

Infection from SARS-CoV-2 have transient and long-term complications. Persistent symptoms postrecovery with perceptions of overall physical and mental health status are crucial information to construe on follow-up care.

To describe the clinical profile, general, and mental health outcomes of hospital staff who recovered from COVID-19 at follow-up 12 weeks or more post-convalescent.

This was a cross-sectional study on follow-up of hospital staff who recovered from COVID-19. Study population included staff or health care workers of a COVID-19 referral tertiary hospital, who had laboratoryconfirmed COVID-19 via RT-PCR. Informed consent was obtained through phone calls and google forms. Data collection was through a self-administered, on-line google form or voice-call interviewer-assisted questionnaire. Analysis was done with Stata 17 using frequencies, proportions, and cross-tabulations.

Persistent symptoms reported several months post-recovery from COVID-19 included fatigue (25%), difficulty of breathing (23%), muscle weakness (16%), nasal congestion (12%), cough (10%), sore throat (5%), anosmia (3%), and ageusia (2%). Symptoms of physical and mental fatigue post-COVID-19 were reported by 25% (N = 93) with extreme fatigue reported by four staff. Fifteen percent (N = 57) reported that they feel that their workload or schedule needed modification after recovery. Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety were the most common mental health issues reported. Screening using validated tools showed that depressive symptoms were present in 45% (N = 145) and anxiety in 18% (N = 53).

Healthcare workers who recovered from COVID-19 for at least 12 weeks or more described their health status as comparable to their overall health one year before the infection. Physical and mental health symptoms reported 12 weeks post-recovery include fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety, and depression and were described in various levels of severity.