CORTH script

● The Philippines, with a popula1on of 109 M Filipinos, is an archipelago of almost 8000
islands, making healthcare access very challenging. The top 5 issues that constantly
confront Filipinos are poverty, educa1on, health and well-being, hunger, and livelihood.
All these are vital determinants in the provision of health services.
● Health literacy is the founda1on for living a healthy life. It is the knowledge, mo1va1on,
and skills needed to make decisions about healthcare, disease preven1on, and health
promo1on. In the 2022 first na1onal survey, the prevalence of limited health literacy
was glaringly at 52%. Access to informa1on influences an individual’s choices, ul1mately
affec1ng community well-being. This could be a factor in the current trends showing
higher risks for communicable and NCD, and rising health care costs on a background of
inadequate healthcare providers. The implementa1on of 2 new health laws: the UHC
Act – an integrated and comprehensive approach to ensure that all Filipinos are health
literate and have access to quality health care and the eHealth Bill, which covers
informa1on and communica1on technologies for health, are both very 1mely regulatory
drivers to strengthen public health which must be anchored on strong community
engagement.
The University of Santo Tomas holds the dis1nc1on of being Asia’s oldest exis1ng university,
Known also as the Pon1fical, Royal, and Catholic University of the Philippines, it is commiYed to
the integral forma1on of its stakeholders for social transforma1on. The Faculty of Medicine and
Surgery boasts of its 150 years of producing the most number of physicians through quality
medical educa1on at par with global standards and in accord with the needs of the na1on.
Through its 4-year subject on Preven1ve, Family, and Community Medicine, students are
introduced to the concepts of community health using a spiral curriculum that culminates in a
1-month experien1al learning in the local public health system and the marginalized community
it serves in their fourth year.
UST is situated in Manila - the na1onal capital region, ranked 3rd among most congested ci1es in
the world according to Financial Times in 2021. Since UHC mandates the forma1on of
geographic-based HCPNs, the University, through the medical school, has partnered with nearby
primary care centers and communi1es.
Our medical students engage with 2 low-income local govt units called barangays in the district
of Sampaloc, where the University is also located.
The household popula1on of Barangay 429 is about 3000, broken down into 600 families or an
average of 5 members per household. Barangay 458 has 909 families and an average of 2-3
members per household. The most number of individuals fall within the age group of 20-26 year
old and have not aYained college level.
Emerging issues from the ini1al focus group discussions with the faculty and senior medical
students revealed that community engagements enable accessible health informa1on for the
community people, especially through social media plaborms. Students can showcase crea1ve
and innova1ve delivery of informa1on enhancing health literacy; however, it was frustra1ng for
students/faculty health providers to correct certain misinforma1on from “influencers” with no
scien1fic basis for their claims.
The partnership of the Medical school with the barangays opens more opportuni1es for other
collabora1ons, par1cularly with the private sector. The sharing of manpower and other
resources is seen as an advantage in the conduct of health programs. However, the
sustainability of ini1a1ves remains challenging, given the limited resources. The respondents
felt more could be accomplished if only the community leaders and their people could be more
proac1ve in program planning and implementa1on. Furthermore, some recommended health
interven1ons are likely to be less ideal for pragma1c reasons in considera1on of logis1cal
concerns and some exis1ng religious prac1ces. This makes some theories and principles difficult
to translate in actual community sehng.
Here are some of the students' interac1ons with the community – interviews for community
diagnosis, family home care, health screenings, and management and lay fora. This
demonstrates how we ac1vely engage all relevant par1es (par1cipants, communi1es, and
others with interest in the issue being studied) in defining the research problems, developing
ques1ons, gathering data, analyzing the collected data, and preparing recommenda1ons
Significant reflec1ons common to faculty and medical students include:

● The influence of Poli1cs” in the University and the Local Community on the conduct of
public health ini1a1ves.
● The Strong Catholic stance on contracep1on limits the op1ons of medical students to
promote freedom of choice in women’s health and wellness.
● Presence and sincerity are crucial when engaging with communi1es.
● Thus. it is essen1al to develop people with a genuine passion for community building
● The medical school should Empower the communi1es to do more and be more; they are
not mere recipients of help. They, too, possess the answer to their problems.
● Finally, partnerships must ensure a strong program with good follow-up and impact
evalua1on.
The community's responses have not been incorporated yet, as we are currently in the ini1al
phase of interviews.

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● The Philippines, with a popula1on of 109 M Filipinos, is an archipelago of almost 8000

Signiﬁcant reﬂec1ons common to faculty and medical students include:

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