BACKGROUD

In 1995, RA 7883 was enacted stating the incentives and benefits which can be provided for BHWs. In the advent of the Universal Health Care, the role of the BHWs will be crucial more than ever and to ensure the sustainability of the program is an urgent concern. There is a need to identify the hindrances in the provision of incentives and benefits for the BHWs in coming up with recommendations on how to improve it.

Focus group discussions on selected BHWs and key informant interviews on policy makers and implementors were conducted to assess the reinforcing and hindering factors on the provision of incentives and benefits for the BHWs.

The report outlines key factors affecting BHWs in Oriental Mindoro. While the BHW organization has potential to offer incentives, it needs stronger oversight from the Local Government Unit (LGU) to be effective. NGOs, provide crucial funding for training BHWs in remote areas. Political interference in appointing BHWs, with frequent changes in leadership, disrupts the program's stability. Training opportunities are limited by a lack of funding, leaving many BHWs undertrained. Additionally, local ordinances that offer benefits to BHWs often fail due to unclear policies, changing local leadership, and insufficient budgets.

The BHW program continues to face persistent challenges in the provision of incentives and benefits, largely due to the lack of clear, comprehensive, and enforceable policies and guidelines.

Databases, Bibliographic ; Evidence-based Practice ; Health Services Needs And Demand

Endoscopy ; Health Services Needs and Demand

OBJECTIVES: To discuss the demands and countermeasures for outpatients and emergency patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in large general hospital. METHODS: By analyzing patients' demands, outpatient service system and emergency system complemented each other with the help of "internet medical" to provide online medical treatment, self-diagnosed pneumonia program, online pharmacies, outpatient appointment and online pre-examination services, open green channels for special patients, and to provide referral services for critical patients. The COVID-19 suspected patients and other common fever patients were separated from other patients. RESULTS: From January 28 to March 1, we have received 26 000 patients online, 1 856 special patients, 2 929 suspected patients and common fever patients including 31 confirmed patients, 0 case of misdiagnosis and cross-infection. CONCLUSIONS Targeting patient's demands and taking appropriate measures are effective on meeting the needs of outpatients' and emergency patients' medical services.
Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Cross Infection ; prevention & control ; Emergency Medical Services ; organization & administration ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Hospitals, General ; organization & administration ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology ; prevention & control

COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Communicable Disease Control ; General Surgery/organization & administration* ; Guidelines as Topic ; Health Care Rationing ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Health Workforce ; Humans ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Triage

PURPOSE: Pediatric palliative care (PPC) is emphasized as standard care for children with life-limiting conditions to improve the quality of life. In Korea, a government-funded pilot program was launched only in July 2018. Given that, this study examined various PPC delivery models in other countries to refine the PPC model in Korea. METHODS: Target countries were selected based on the level of PPC provided there: the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Singapore. Relevant literature, websites, and consultations from specialists were analyzed by the integrative review method. Literature search was conducted in PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar, focusing publications since 1990, and on-site visits were conducted to ensure reliability. Analysis was performed on each country's process to develop its PPC scheme, policy, funding model, target population, delivery system, and quality assurance. RESULTS: In the United Kingdom, community-based free-standing facilities work closely with primary care and exchange advice and referrals with specialized PPC consult teams of children's hospitals. In the United States, hospital-based specialized PPC consult teams set up networks with hospice agencies and home healthcare agencies and provide PPC by designating care coordinators. In Japan, palliative care is provided through several services such as palliative care for cancer patients, home care for technology-dependent patients, other support services for children with disabilities and/or chronic conditions. In Singapore, a home-based PPC association plays a pivotal role in providing PPC by taking advantage of geographic accessibility and cooperating with tertiary hospitals. CONCLUSION: It is warranted to identify unmet needs and establish an appropriate PPD model to provide need-based individualized care and optimize PPC in South Korea.
Adolescent ; Child ; Delivery of Health Care ; Disabled Children ; Financial Management ; Great Britain ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Home Care Services ; Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Methods ; Palliative Care ; Pediatrics ; Primary Health Care ; Quality of Life ; Referral and Consultation ; Singapore ; Specialization ; Tertiary Care Centers ; United States

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to investigate the patients' needs on integrated supportive service programs for the abortion women. METHODS: The 49 participants in this study were abortion experienced women in 2 infertility hospitals. Data were collected using a structure self-report questionnaire including medical treatment and nursing after abortion, symptom recognition and sexual problems after abortion, management in daily care after abortion and supportive system after abortion. RESULTS: Participants had an average score 3.54 for the need of medical treatment and nursing after abortion, 3.50 for the need of symptom recognition and sexual problems after abortion, 3.27 for the need of management in daily care after abortion and 3.28 for the need of supportive system after abortion. CONCLUSION: In order to effectively conduct integrated supportive service programs for the abortion women, it is necessary to understand appropriate nursing care for women after abortion.
Comprehensive Health Care ; Female ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Infertility ; Needs Assessment ; Nursing Care ; Nursing ; Pregnancy Complications

PURPOSE: The vaccination level of rotavirus vaccine not supported by the government is not known. As vaccines not included in the national immunization schedule are not registered in the computerized national immunization registry system, their vaccination rate cannot be calculated according to the same method used in government-supported vaccines. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the status of the vaccination rate of rotavirus not included in the national immunization schedule. METHODS: The target population is the 0-year-old cohort. The survey population was composed of registered children born in 2017 enrolled in the Immunization Registry Information System. The survey was conducted through a computerized telephone survey method. The survey variables were as follows: vaccination order and date, provider, and data source. Factors related to complete vaccination were the child's sex, residence, birth order, and parents' age, educational level, and job status. RESULTS: Children's vaccination rates for the rotavirus vaccine by 2017 were 88.0%, 86.9%, and 96.6% for the first, second, and third doses, respectively. The rate of complete vaccination was 85.6%. The factors related to rotavirus complete vaccination were the child's sex and birth order, area of residence, parents' age and job status, and father's education level. CONCLUSION: In the future, it is necessary to conduct regular investigations on the rate of rotavirus vaccination as a tool for the development of the rotavirus infectious diseases control policy or as an evaluation tool for vaccine programs.
Birth Order ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Communicable Diseases ; Education ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunization Schedule ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Information Systems ; Methods ; Rotavirus ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Telephone ; Vaccination ; Vaccines

PURPOSE: Though regular surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for high-risk patients is widely recommended, its rate and effectiveness are not clear. The aim of this study is to investigate the actual rate of HCC surveillance and its related factors and to clarify its impact on survival in a Korean HCC cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2012 to 2015, 319 newly diagnosed HCC patients were prospectively enrolled at a tertiary hospital. Patient interviews based on a structured questionnaire survey were conducted. Surveillance was defined as liver imaging test ≥ 2 times with at least 3-month interval within 2 years prior to HCC diagnosis. RESULTS: Surveillance rate was 39.8%. Of the HCC patients with high-risk factors, only 182 (57.1%) had knowledge for the need for regular surveillance, and 141 (44.2%) had the accurate information about the method (ultrasound-based study). Surveillance group showed a higher proportion of early HCC (p < 0.001) and a longer overall survival (p < 0.001) compared to non-surveillance group. The multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated Child-Pugh class A, history of anti-viral therapy, low serum α-fetoprotein level, non-advanced Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage as independent predictors of overall survival, while regular surveillance was not (p=0.436). CONCLUSION: Less than half of the newly diagnosed Korean HCC patients were under surveillance and the accurate perception for the need of HCC surveillance was insufficient. Of those under surveillance, most patients were diagnosed with early stage HCC, which led to the improved survival. Comprehensive efforts to optimize the surveillance program for the target population are warranted.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Neoplasms ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Prospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), together with metabolic syndrome and obesity, has shown a rapid increase in prevalence worldwide and is emerging as a major cause of chronic liver disease and liver transplantation. Among the various phenotypes of NAFLD, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is highly likely to progress to development of end-stage liver disease and cardiometabolic disease, resulting in liver-related and non-liver–related mortality. Nonetheless, there is no standardized pharmacotherapy against NASH and many drugs are under development in ongoing clinical trials. To develop a successful anti-NASH drug, it is necessary to select an appropriate target population and treatment outcomes depending on whether the mode of action is anti-metabolic, anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrotic. Recently, innovative surrogate markers have been investigated to replace hard outcomes such as liver histology and mortality and reduce the clinical trial duration. Currently, several drugs with fast track designation are being tested in phase III clinical trials, and many other drugs have moved into phase II clinical trials. Both lean NAFLD and typical obese NAFLD have been extensively studied and genetic variants such as PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 have been identified as significant risk factors for lean NAFLD. In the near future, noninvasive biomarkers and effective targeted therapies for NASH and associated fibrosis are required to develop precision medicine and tailored therapy according to various phenotypes of NAFLD.
Biomarkers ; Drug Therapy ; Fibrosis ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation ; Mortality ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Obesity ; Phenotype ; Precision Medicine ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors