Background: Missed appointments or “no-show” is a widespread problem faced both by the private and public sectors of the health care community. Identifying factors leading up to no shows will help the movers of health to understand the effects of no show in the utilization of essential health services especially during a pandemic and putting up with a plan to manage the exaggerated decline in both primary consultation and follow-up appointments Objective: To determine the associated factors of future no show among patients seen in Cebu Institute of Medicine – Community Medico Social Services (CIM-CMSS). Methods: Analytic, cross-sectional study was adopted by the study and was conducted at Cebu Institute of Medicine – Community Medico-Social Services Center from July to November 2021 to 165 participants chosen via purposive random sampling. Data collection was done using a validated, researcher-developed two-part questionnaire Results: One hundred sixty-five patients participated in the study. The demographics were gathered, associated with the factors that could affect the no-show rate. The top 5 contributing factors are as follows: Fear of COVID-19; Weather; Long waiting time during consult or follow-up; Work or school; Transportation Problems. Other non-patient and non-institution-related factors obtained the highest mean ratings. Only civil status and income showed significant difference. These may indicate that the decision to seek follow up is affected by factors outside the control of patient or the institution in relation to the different civil status and income levels. Conclusion The fear for the COVID-19 infection still holds the primary reason for not showing up for the scheduled follow up. Majority of the factors belonged to patient-related and other non-patient related and non-institution related factors. The long waiting hours could be addressed by CIM-CMSS to improve its services to patients. The ongoing pandemic will continue to affect the already-struggling follow up rates of CIM-CMSS

Background: The highly demanding nature of medical education may lead to development of burnout in medical students which may persist beyond medical school. Burnout can be a predictor of psychological impairments and incorrect patient care Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of burnout and its relationship to socio-demographic variables and associated stressors among 1st to 4th year medical students of Cebu Institute of Medicine for school year 2018-2019 Methods: This is cross-sectional study using a self-administered three-part questionnaire composed of socio-demographic data, stressors, and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). Descriptive statistics were taken for all variables. T-test analysis was used for dichotomous independent variables while Analysis of Variance was utilized for independent samples with multiple variables. Multiple regression analysis was done to determine significant relationship between identified stressors and the determinant score on the CBI Results: Participants had high degree of burnout with average CBI score of 71.53. Majority of the respondents (94.88%) showed at least moderate burnout. Only Year Level (p=0.027) was significantly associated with burnout. Stressors associated with burnout were: lack of belief in what you do (p=0.000), insufficient rewards (p=0.007), poor communication (p=0.002), poor leadership (p=0.009), sense of never ending competition (p=0.009) and scoring lower than hoped (p=0.003). Conclusion Students are at risk for burnout as they temporally progress through medical school peaking at 3rd year level. Stressors encompass personal, study, colleague, and teacher related factors. It is important to address these stressors due to their progressive negative effect both on self and others.
Burnout, Psychological

BACKGROUND

There has been a growing prevalence of hypertension and its associated diseases. Medication adherence is one of the primary factors of uncontrolled blood pressure in patients and non-adherence to medication can result in morbidity and mortality for the patient and increased financial strain on the healthcare system. With the wide availability of mobile phones, using short messaging system (SMS) reminders as an intervention has shown promising results in improving medication adherence. The present study aims to see if SMS reminders can help improve medication adherence among hypertensive patients seen in the out-patient department.

To determine the effect of short messaging system reminders on the medication adherence among hypertensive patients seen in the outpatient department of Cebu South Medical Center (CSMC) in a 12-week trial period.

This was a two-arm parallel group, double blind, randomized clinical trial using short text messaging reminder to hypertensive patients conducted last October 4, 2023 to December 27, 2023 at CSMC Outpatient Clinic under Family Medicine Service. A two-part questionnaire composed of baseline clinical variables and the Hill-bone Medication Adherence Scale (HBMAS) (Kim, et al 2000) was utilized pre- and post-intervention. STATA Software was used to analyze the date with intention to treat analysis. Descriptive statistics was computed for dichotomous variables while continuous variables were expressed as means and measured before and after intervention. The mean HB-MAS scores pre intervention and post-intervention per group were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, while scores between intervention and control groups pre- and post-intervention were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with two-sided p values reported and statistical significance set up at p < 0.05.

A total of 102 patients were enrolled in the study (51 in intervention group and 51 in control group) with no dropouts. There was no significant difference between the baseline and post intervention medication adherence scores in both the intervention and control groups, however, there was a significant difference of the scores between the intervention and control groups post intervention (p = 0.001). There was also noted improvement of the blood pressure among participants in the intervention group, with lower blood pressures post-intervention on average (120/80 mmHg) compared to baseline (130/90 mmHg), while participants in the control group still exhibited high blood pressure (130/90 mmHg) post-intervention.

Given the widespread availability of mobile devices and the increased awareness generated by social media, it may be easier to put interventions in place that improve drug adherence. Through the use of easily accessible technology, this study helps patients remember to take their prescription by offering straightforward reminders that can help them overcome these obstacles to medication adherence.