Community-based health program (CBHP) workshop formative evaluation

SCOPE: A formative evaluation of a one-day Community-Based Health Program (CBHP) workshop in an urban poor setting in Silang,Cavite was done.OBJECTIVE: To determine if the workshop was feasible and useful from the perspective of important stakeholders.RESEARCH DESIGN: A descriptive research design was used with triangulation of data sources: participant observation, short-form questionnaire and monitoring checklist.RESULTS: The responses from the short-form, self-administered feedback questionnaire showed that out of the 42 participants: 1) 38% liked that they gained knowledge from the workshop; 2) 72.3% expressed that there was nothing that they disliked during the sessions; 3) about 13% expressed their desire to have more workshops like this one in the future; and 4) only 6.4% learned the importance of CBHP. It was observed frequently during discussions that participants said that the San Beda College of Medicine, played an important and crucial role in the CBHP. The College was visible and active together with the staff of the Canossa Health and Social Center run by the Canossian Daughters of Charity as well as with its community leader, Sr. Maria Elena Adre. With the presence of the clinical clerks and doctors of San Beda College of Medicine, the program continuously provided health services. Furthermore, other strengths that were mentioned were the volunteer health workers, the laboratory (microscopy), numerous training activities and seminars, feeding program and scholarship program.CONCLUSION: A one-day CBHP workshop was feasible and useful in an urban poor community setting from the perspective of important stakeholders.

Profile of adult foreign patients seen at the emergency room, Manila Doctors Hospital and their level of satisfaction from January 2008 to December 2009

To describe the profile of adult foreign patients seen at the Emergency Room, Manila Doctors Hospital from January 2008 to December 2009 and their level of satisfaction. Background: Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly growing practice of traveling across international boarders to obtain health care. The Philippines is one of a few countries that send qualified physicians and dentists to the US, a testament to its quality of medical education. Procedures can be performed at a fraction of the amount that a patient would spend on the same procedure in the US or Europe. Method: This is a descriptive study done in the Department of Emergency Medicine of a tertiary hospital. All adult foreign patients who consulted at the E.R. were given survey questionnaires to answer prior to discharge. Answers of the patients to the items in the questionnaires were collected and described. Results: In terms of the number of consultations at the Emergency Medicine, the most common nationalities of foreign patients are Asians, specifically, Koreans, Chinese and Japanese in that order. Americans and Saudi Arabians immediately follow. Most of the subjects learned about Manila Doctors Hospital thru their friends, some were referred by hotels, agencies and former patients. The subjects were satisfied with courteous and prompt services given to them by the E.R. staff; they were attended to in less than 30 minutes. Most patients find the cost of medical services reasonable. They felt safe inside the hospital. There is a good level of satisfaction among foreign adult patients consulting at the DEM. Conclusion: Among all patients who were included in the study, Koreans rank as top foreign adult patients consulting at the DEM. Overall, patients were satisfied with the medical services rendered to them by the E.R. staff.