Pinoys’ ‘poor’ health-seeking habits result in lackluster healthcare system

It may be a consequence of all that is lacking in the system, but the poor health-seeking habits of Filipinos, especially those in rural areas, are contributing further to the problem.

 

Due to lack of information and more pressing matters such as the need for food and livelihood, Filipinos in rural areas tend to put off their health concerns, seeking cures instead of ways to prevent getting sick. Or they turn to the traditional way, like how expectant mothers call for the manghihilot, instead of going to the birthing facility, if there was any in their area.

 

For Mayor Kristine Hao-Kho of Mandaon town in Masbate, breaking the "un-habit" meant going from one community to another to advertise the services offered by the municipality.

 

Hao-Kho said she had "the honor of explaining and begging," if only to get her constituents to avail of the health services they have.

 

"Para akong nangangampanya ulit, ngunit sa pagkakataong ito, hindi partido ang ibinebenta ko kundi ang mga birthing facility at ang aming mga programa," she said during a colloqium in Makati City last October 28.

 

Hao-Kho was among the eight mayors who recently completed the Community Health Partnership Program (CHPP) of the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF).

 

The CHPP requires mayors stand alongside their municipal health officer as "health leaders" and undergo four modules on health leadership and governance training activities.

 

At the end of the two-year program, the mayors have to present their findings and results in a colloquium, such as the one held last October 28.

 

Transportation woes

 

The mayors found that transportation problems make matters worse, especially since some areas in their respective towns are not easy to reach.

 

With that in mind, some of them tapped the services of drivers in the area.

 

In Tinambac, getting motorboat operators and habal-habal drivers to cooperate was not easy, said Hao-Kho, who said they used reverse psychology in dealing with stubborn drivers.

 

"There was resistance, kaya ipinaliwanag at pinaramdam namin sa kanila ang isang napakalaking papel na gagampanan nila to save the lives of their kabarangay. I told them, 'Kung kayo walang pakialam sa mga kabarangay niyo, mas lalong 'di makikialam ang taga-kabilang barangay,'" she said. "Nakuha rin namin ang loob nila. Some even offered free service."

 

In Tinambac town in Camarines Sur, Mayor Ruel Velarde said they integrated the habal-habal drivers into their strategy through their Kasurog Program.

 

"'Kasurog,' which means 'ally,' are the habal-habal drivers who pledged to help transport pregnant mothers in labor and to move other medical emergencies to the healthcare facility as needed," Velarde said. "Drivers are given monetary incentives, depending on the distance covered."

 

Healthcare workers

 

The local chief executives also found problems about their health staff, especially given the location of their municipalities.

 

In Magsaysay town in Palawan, Mayor Rommel dela Torre found that patients, particularly expectant mothers, are intimidated both by the cost and the attitude of healthcare workers assigned in their area.

 

"Most of the pregnant (women) cannot afford the professional fees that the health workers, specifically the midwives, are charging then, which can go up to P3,000. Hence, they seek the services of the hilot. 'Mura na, mas maalaga pa,' (they would say)," he said.

 

Dela Torre added that health programs in their town become "dormant" because the place is remote and "no doctor wants to stay long."

 

"We are a recipient of Doctors to the Barrios of the Department of Health (DOH) for years now. But we're not privileged to have one all the time. There were years wherein we were doctor-less. Health programs that were launched never reached full potential because they lacked monitoring," he said.

 

With this in mind, Dela Torre said they ordered midwives to stop billing the women for childbirth, with the government shouldering the expenses.

 

To keep them connected with the community, the government also held a team-building session for the staff "to strengthen their personal relationships."

 

Ordinances, dialogues

 

While talk proved a good strategy, mayor-participants said strict implementation of existing or newly-issued ordinances also helped in shaping a better healthcare system in their towns.

 

For many of them, the interventions included dealing with the "hilot," from ordinances banning home deliveries to making them assistants to barangay health workers and midwives.

 

In the case of Cataingan town in Masbate, Mayor Wilton Kho said integrating the hilot as assistants came after they still continued to render services to pregnant women despite the ordinance issued against it.

 

"I asked them [kung bakit] pilit pa rin [silang] nagpapaanak kahit may patakaran na tayong makukulong at pagmumultahin [sila]. They only had one reason, 'Wala kaming maipapakain sa pamilya namin,'" he said, adding that a former hilot in his town who agreed to be a birthing assistant receives P350 monthly.

 

For Hao-Kho, "explaining and begging," along with other interventions, worked in improving the healthcare system in her town—with zero maternal and infant deaths, as well as increased facility-based deliveries and deliveries with skilled birth attendants.

 

"Because of the good referral system, out-of-pocket spending on health dramatically decreased. Hindi na rin naghihintay ang mga tao na mag-agaw buhay muna bago magpa-check-up, [which] clearly shows that their health-seeking behavior has improved," she said. —KG/RSJ, GMA News