PROSPECTS AND OUTLOOK FOR HEALTH RESEARCH IN

EMERGENCIES :

Cordillera Administrative Region,

PHILIPPINESPHILIPPINES

Virginia Anceno

The Philippines

• 3rd most disaster-prone country in the world (UNSDIR 2013)

• Its location in the tropics and in the Pacific Ring of Fire exposes the people at risks to multitude of natural hazards (e.g., typhoons, floods, drought, as well as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions)

• In 2010-2013, Typhoons Sendong (2011), Pablo (2012) and Yolanda (2013) ravaged the Philippines...

claimed 1,268; 1,248; and 6,300 lives, respectively ; andrespectively ; and

Caused injuries to a total number of 37,988 people.

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

• 1 of the 18 regions of the country

• found in the northern part of Luzon

• similarly located in a highly • similarly located in a highly vulnerable location , making it a regular recipient of tropical cyclones that develop into full-blown tropical storms of varying strengths and rainfall intensities

• also an earthquake- prone area

Baguio City earthquake on July 16, 1990- the 4th destructive earthquake in the world in earthquake in the world in terms of the number of casualties

Cordillera Administrative Region (continuation)

• In 2011, like the country, CAR was also devastated with 2 strong typhoons (Pedring and Quiel) affecting 299 barangays with 9,030 families or a total of 45,317 people (CAR Strategic

Action Plan, 2012) Action Plan, 2012)

Cordillera Administrative Region (continuation)

• Unlike in the country the 2 CAR typhoons had impacted on the health of the people but said to be less serious as the their medical needs were immediately responded to.

Safeguarding people’s health

• In managing risk, one primordial concern is health...

– Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or well-being (WHO)

– Health is a human right

• Health risk factors should be addressed in times of disaster

Disaster

A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

A disaster will ultimately cause destruction, distress, disarray, disease, displacement, and death. (Sumathipala and Jafarey, 2010)

Therefore, a DISASTER should be treated as an EMERGENCY.an EMERGENCY.

ZERO casualty should be the goal of any emergency operations (Salceda, 2014)

In CAR, while the 2 typhoons bore no serious negative effects on health, 6 persons however died, and 1 missing. (CAR Social Protection Report,

2013)

This, therefore, calls the need to conduct HEALTH RESEARCH IN EMERGENCIES in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

PROSPECTS OF HEALTH RESEARCH IN EMERGENCIES

1. Exposure of CAR to natural hazard poses risks and vulnerabilities to its people particularly the vulnerable sector

2. Lessons learned from Typhoon Yolanda and 2. Lessons learned from Typhoon Yolanda and other studies could serve as benchmarks

3. Disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) thematic areas could open opportunities for the conduct of health researches

4. Public Health addresses a wide range of research questions in disasters and emergencies

5. Results of monitoring and evaluation studies of ongoing programs and projects and impact ongoing programs and projects and impact assessment of completed projects play crucial roles in decision- and policy- making

6. Big data has emerged with the rise of social media.

OUTLOOK FOR NOW AND BEYOND

• Health is a human right and disasters are increasing in frequency. Health researches in emergencies are therefore here to stay.

• Also, by putting people at the center of health • Also, by putting people at the center of health research and initiatives, more meaningful programs, solutions, and innovations are produced.

• Health research in emergencies is boosted by the passage of the Republic Act no. 10532 or the Philippine National Health Research System Law of 2013

CONCLUSION

Doing health research in emergencies is beckoning, however, there are guideposts to remember. Among these include:

• Researchers should be responsive to people’s needs. They should be focus on inequities, welfare of the communities, and on what people welfare of the communities, and on what people want then translate this to program (Dr. Galvez Tan, 2013; Garilao, 2013)

• Researches should be translated into policies and actions, to greatly benefit the public (Dr. Alberto G. Romualdez, 2013)

• Research results should be disseminated widely, using various platforms. They should not be left in the shelves gathering dust (Alegre, 2014).

• Evidence must be used in studies. This is crucial in sound policy making and implementation on clinical practice, social implementation on clinical practice, social action, health investments, and health policy (Sec. Enrique Ona, 2013; Dr. Gelia Castillo, 2013).

• Researches must pass through the Ethics review process (Reyes, 2014)

References:

Department of Social Welfare and Development- Cordillera Administrative Region (2013). Social Protection Report. Unpublished manuscript.

National Economic and Development Authority-Cordillera Administrative Region (2012). Strategic Action Plan: Rehabilitation and Recovery of Areas Affected by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel. Unpublished manuscript.

Philippine National Health research System Annual Report 2013 (retrieved from http://healthresearch.ph)

PNHRS Week Celebration 2014 (retrieved from http://healthresearch.ph/index.php/downloads/category136-2014.html)

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (retrieved from http://www.pids.gov.ph/policynotes)

Sumathipala, A. And Jafarey, A. (Eds.) (2010). Ethics of Disaster management, Clinical Care and Research. Singapore: NUS Press.

World Bank (2014). World Development Report 2014: Risk and Opportunity—Managing Risk for Development. World Bank: Washington DC.

World Health Organization (retrieved from http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html)

World Risk Report 2013 (retrieved from http://www.worldriskreport.com)

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