Education ; Health Education ; Global Health

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Effective Written Communication Training” provided among 16 UP Manila administrative employees following Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model. OBJECTIVES: This study specifically examines the reaction of the employees to the training program (Level 1), changes in the level of learning (Level 2), and transfer of training in the workplace or behavioral changes (Level 3). METHODOLOGY: The study used a cross-sectional design, and the primary data was collected through survey questionnaires, a pretest, and a posttest. For the Level 1 evaluation, a training assessment survey was given to the participants. For the Level 2 evaluation, tests were given to the participants before and after the conduct of the training program. For the Level 3 evaluation, a survey questionnaire was given to the participants and their immediate supervisor five months after the end of the training. RESULTS: The Level 1 results showed that the participants' overall reaction to the training was Excellent in terms of training design, facilitation, resource speaker/facilitator, and overall experience. For the Level 2 evaluation, results showed that there is a significant change (t(15)=11.32, ρ<0.05) in the participants' learning about written communication, as shown in the difference between the pretest (M=16.56, SD=3.01) and posttest scores (M=20.25, SD=2.49). Results of the Level 3 evaluation showed that written communication competencies have been applied to the workplace. Employees confidently compose written correspondences, construct formal and official letters, and relay queries using a more appropriate choice of words, which the participants' supervisors also observed. CONCLUSION Overall, the training program was found to be effective in improving the participants' written communication skills, following Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the clinical outcomes related to theintroduction of Paliperidone Palmitate in a specialty hospital in the Philippines. Methodology: Cross-sectional study among patients with Schizophrenia seen at thepsychiatry service of a specialty hospital catering to war veterans who were initiated onPaliperidone Palmitate. We reviewed and abstracted baseline patient data from themedical record of eligible patients. Outcome of treatment was collected through a one-time objective assessment of the patient by a third-party psychiatrist using theStructured Clinical Interview for Symptoms of Remission (SCI-SR) tool. Results: A total of 30 patients were recruited for the study from August 2020 and June2021, the majority of whom were males (80%), residents of the National Capital Region(50%) and single (20%). The median duration from schizophrenia diagnosis to initiation of Paliperidone treatment was 19.50 years (IQR: 16.60 – 33.50). In eight patients (22.67%),other antipsychotic drugs were discontinued following initiation of Paliperidonetreatment; in the remaining 22 participants (73.33%), Paliperidone was taken concurrentlywith other antipsychotic drugs. The median duration from the initiation of Paliperidonetreatment to follow-up assessment was 27.20 months (IQR: 24.73 – 30.50), with allparticipants having at least 6 months of treatment. At follow-up assessment, allparticipants were classified to be in remission. Conclusion In this study among patients with schizophrenia seen in a specialtyhospital in the Philippines, we found evidence that clinical outcomes with PaliperidonePalmitate were comparable to those given a combination of oral and long- actingantipsychotics.
Paliperidone Palmitate ; Schizophrenia

<p style="text-align: justify;">Objectives: The Pharmacy DOTS Initiative (PDI) was relaunched on a larger scale in 2014 through the Innovations and Multi-Sectoral Partnerships to Achieve Control of Tuberculosis (IMPACT) project. This paper aimed to assess the PDI program through IMPACT by identifying the facilitating and hindering factors in its implementation. The identified factors are classified as to the affected stakeholders or processes.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the PDI Program Manager and four NTP coordinators from selected project sites. Thematic analysis was done to determine the recurring facilitating and hindering factors as identified by the key informants.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Results: Facilitating factors identified include cooperation of the stakeholders, capability-building and a good referral system. The barriers to the implementation were grouped into patient-related, pharmacy-related, health center-related, program-related as well as external factors.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion: The referral system created through PDI facilitated the flow of referrals starting from the pharmacy. This enabled presumptive patients to have access to health facilities for TB. Hindering factors contributed to the inability of the engaged pharmacies to sustain their consistency and commitment in conducting the PDI interventions.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Key Words: barriers, facilitators, tuberculosis, directly observed therapy, program evaluation, pharmacyp>
Tuberculosis ; Directly Observed Therapy ; Program Evaluation ; Pharmacy

<p style="text-align: justify;">Background and Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health problem in the Philippines despite trends indicating a decline in the burden of disease. Persons who use drugs who are confined in government-retained drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers (DATRCs) face an increased risk for TB because of the congestion in the facility coupled with the absence of guidelines on TB management specific to DATRCs. Thus, this study was conducted to document the current case finding and case holding practices as well as TB treatment pathway in six (6) Luzon-based, government-retained DATRCs.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted with DATRC personnel involved in TB diagnosis and management in six selected DATRCs in Luzon, Philippines. Interviews were transcribed and coded for thematic analysis. We compared the DATRC practices with the provisions of the 2014 National TB Control Program (NTP) Manual of Procedures. Results were validated through a workshop with (a) a group of physicians and rehabilitation practitioners assigned in other DATRCs; and (b) a group of experts who have experience in managing or overseeing DATRCs in the country.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Results: Two physicians and four nurses participated in the interviews. Variations in case finding and case holding practices in six DATRCs have been found. National guidelines exist for congregate settings but are more specific to jails/prisons, which are administratively and operationally different from DATRCs.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion: Development of special guidelines for TB case finding and case holding in DATRCs as well as staff training on the latest NTP Manual of Procedures are recommended. However, gaps and inequities posed by the current set-up underscore the need to address health system-wide factors affecting the practice and performance of these facilities.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Key Words: tuberculosis, case finding, case holding, drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers, Philippinesp>
Tuberculosis ; Rehabilitation Centers

<p style="text-align: justify;">Objective: This paper aims to characterize existing financial assistance available to patients with schizophrenia. Specifically, we described (1) the funding mechanisms for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia; (2) the process for accessing financial assistance; and (3) the experiences of consumers of services of these support mechanisms.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Methods: We employed qualitative techniques using key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussion (FGD). Key informants were officials from institutions providing or offering financial assistance for patients with any health-related concerns, including schizophrenia. Focus group participants were support group members or caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for both providers and consumers of financial assistance or scheme. Topic guides for KII and FGD were used for data collection. Thematic analysis was performed on the qualitative data gathered from the informants and focus group participants.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Results: Securing financial assistance for schizophrenia followed a generally similar process, whether the source is from government offices or civil society organizations, and can be grouped into three main stages: (a) pre-application, (b) application, and (c) post-application. While the process of seeking financial assistance appears to be straightforward, issues were encountered in all of the stages by both providers and recipients alike, namely: (a) Financial assistance as an augmentation to patient resources; (b) Mismatch between demand and service capability; (c) Measures of organizational effectiveness; (d) Health professionals and support groups as "bridges" / "facilitators" to financial assistance providers; (e) Financial and non-financial costs incurred by caregivers in applying for financial assistance; and (f) Recipient-provider relationship as a barrier to the feedback process.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion: This study provides a glimpse of available financial and other relevant assistance to clients, including clients suffering from schizophrenia. More extensive research covering more organizations, support groups, and caregivers from different parts of the country is recommended.p>
Schizophrenia

<p style="text-align: justify;">Background and Objectives: The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) is mandated by law to, among others, develop capacities and accredit physicians and rehabilitation practitioners across the country on the assessment and management of drug dependence. This paper describes the design and presents the outputs of an advanced course on screening and assessment of drug dependence developed by DOH in partnership with the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines Manila, Philippine College of Addiction Medicine, and the Group for Addiction Psychiatry of the Philippines.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Methodology: Review, abstraction and synthesis of data from training-related documents and records for the training activities implemented in 2014.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Results: The Level 2a course is a five-day program that focuses on enhancing the skills of physicians and rehabilitation practitioners on the screening and assessment of drug dependence using team-based and practical learning approaches, and builds on learnings from the basic accreditation course. A total of 36 participants from ten Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers (DATRCs) in nine regions completed the pilot implementation of the course in 2014. In general, the overall participant feedback on the training was mainly favorable based on data from 47% of participants who agreed or strongly agreed to statements on the relevance and attainment of the course aims (mean rating of 1.10±0.31, 1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree), and the appropriateness of its content (1.24±0.43) and design (1.18±0.39). A paired-samples t-test comparing scores for 44% of participants showed that there was a highly statistically significant difference in the pre-test (54%±13%) and post-test scores (69%±10%); t(16)=6.4240, p <0.0001.p><p style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion: Development and design of capability-building initiatives in the field of drug rehabilitation will necessitate alignment with practice standards, grounding in the real-world setting in which professionals work, and orientation towards practical learning.p>
Education ; Interprofessional Relations ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers ; Physicians ; Nurses ; Psychology ; Social Workers

Background: Workplace bullying is defined as frequent, ongoing, and detrimental incidence of unreasonable acts/behaviors directed towards an individual. The consequences of bullying to individuals often lead to absenteeism, resignation, job dissatisfaction, and suicidal ideation making it a major public health concern. This organizational issue, when not addressed, will greatly affect the workflow in any organization. There is a paucity of literature on this problem in the Southeast Asian countries Objective: This study aimed to describe the extent of workplace bullying among employees of a public higher education institution. Methodology: The researchers used a descriptive, cross-sectional study design. Survey questionnaires in Google Form were emailed to all employees with a 35.96% participation rate. The survey instrument asked participants to indicate their awareness about any bullying behavior in their unit and to specify the typical profile of bullies and victims they know of. Responses to quantitative variables were summarized using the mean and standard deviation, while qualitative variables were reported as frequency and percentage distribution. The software used for analysis were Microsoft Excel and EpiInfo 7. Results: At least one-third (36.94%) of survey respondents indicated that they witnessed a form of bullying in the workplace with more awareness seen among faculty members and permanent employees. The most common type of bullying observed in the workplace was criticism in public. Notably, this type of bullying was similar across employee categories. The predominant reactions of victims of bullying include feeling of fear and loss of trust, and confiding to a friend or co-worker. Conclusion The phenomenon of bullying has been witnessed by the employees and reported to have adverse effects on victims. Informational campaigns coupled with anti-bullying policy and programs are necessary to promote employee well-being.
Occupational Stress ; Universities ; Occupational Stress ; Philippines

Objective: We aimed to provide practical guidance on the scoping review process, building on the methodologies and general steps outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, Levac et al. and The Joanna Briggs Institute. Methods: We reviewed the methodologies of three scoping studies conducted by the authors in the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila between 2016 and 2017. For each project, we outlined the steps, tools utilized, good practices performed, challenges encountered, and recommendations for improving the scoping review process in relation to existing guidelines. We compared the similarities and differences across the three reviews and guidelines to come up with a list of good practices and recommendations. Results: We propose an expanded 10-step and iterative framework based on our analysis of three scoping studies: Define your research question; 2. Specify your research statement according to population, concept, and context; Prepare the necessary tools, forms, and software packages; 4. Assemble your expert panel and/or consultants; Develop your search strategy; 6. Implement the search strategy and retrieve identified studies; 7. Screen and assess studies for inclusion in the scoping review; 8. Chart the data; 9. Synthesize your results; and 10. Prepare your final report. Conclusion Scoping reviews as a method of evidence synthesis are increasingly gaining popularity among researchers due to the scope of what can be reviewed in a relatively short amount of time. With only three scoping studies informing our proposed methodology, other issues and challenges in the conduct of a scoping review may have been missed in the expanded framework presented in this paper. We suggest future studies to apply existing scoping review methodologies, to further enhance this rapidly evolving framework in research, policy, and practice.
Review ; Methods

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the process utilized in developing a training program on data use for decision- making tailored for real-time monitoring of maternal and child health indicators through Community Health Information Tracking System (rCHITS) end-users in selected areas in the Philippines. METHODS: Guided by the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) model and the training cycle, existing records and reports lodged with the National Telehealth Center (NTHC) pertaining to rCHITS were reviewed, supplemented by interviews with the technical staff of the NTHC and discussion with healthcare workers. Training design was developed, training modules and materials were prepared, critiqued, revised and finalized. The training was implemented and evaluated using an evaluation tool designed for this specific capability-building endeavors. RESULTS: A tailored training program on data use for decision-making was designed for rCHITS end-users in select areas in the Philippines. The process of developing the training program was guided by the ADDIE Model and the Training Cycle. Training was delivered to a total of 128 public health workers. Majority of the participants gave high evaluation on the clarity and relevance of objectives, discussion of topics, methods of delivery, and time devoted in addressing issues (range 3.5-3.8 out of highest possible score of 4) CONCLUSION This paper demonstrates the utility of the ADDIE Model and the Training Cycle in developing a training program aimed at enhancing the capability of the field personnel in utilizing the data generated from rCHITS in decision-making. Training participants must also be monitored and evaluated in their workplace setting in order to determine if the concepts and principles covered during the training program are put into practice.
Philippines