The correlation between the professional quality of life and job satisfaction of physicians and nurses currently working in COVID-19 areas of tertiary hospitals in Metro Manila and CALABARZON (Region IV-A) / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#The COVID-19 pandemic put the healthcare worker’s professional quality of life (ProQoL) and job satisfaction (JS) at risk. This study determined the correlation between ProQoL, and the nine facets of and overall JS of physicians and nurses working in COVID-19 areas in Metro Manila and CALABARZON tertiary hospitals. It also determined their demographics, and measured the ProQoL, and overall JS and its nine facets.@*METHODS@#Physicians and nurses working in COVID-19 areas of tertiary hospitals in Metro Manila and CALABARZON were recruited and asked to answer the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 and Job Satisfaction Survey. Correlation between ProQoL and JS was determined through Spearman’s correlation coefficient.@*RESULTS@#High overall JS among 90 physician and nurse respondents correlated with high compassion satisfaction (ρ = 0.310), low burnout (ρ = -0.480) and secondary traumatic stress (ρ = -0.240). Correlations were found between ProQoL, and overall JS and pay, supervision, contingent rewards, coworkers, nature of work, and communication. A strong negative correlation between pay and burnout was observed (ρ = -0.500).@*CONCLUSION@#The overall JS of physicians and nurses has a moderate positive correlation with compassion satisfaction, moderate negative correlation with burnout, and low negative correlation with secondary traumatic stress. Pay and burnout have a strong negative relationship.

The correlation of population, population density, age, and sex to the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among local government units in the National Capital Region / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#The NCR had amassed 752,668 cases of COVID-19 as of September 2021, the highest among the regions in the Philippines. This study aimed to determine the correlation between population, population density, age, and sex with the number of cases among local government units (LGU) in the National Capital Region (NCR).@*METHODS@#The data for population, population density, age, and sex distribution of the LGUs of NCR were retrieved from the 2015 Philippine census while the data for cases were from DOH’s COVID-19 Tracker. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to determine the correlation between population, population density and cases. Phi and Cramer’s V statistic were computed to determine associations between sex, age groups, and cases.@*RESULTS@#There was little or no correlation between population density and number of cases (r = 0.236) but was good (r = 0.905) when Quezon City was excluded for being an outlier. There was good correlation between population and number of cases (r = 964, p < 0.001). There was very weak to no association between sex and number of COVID-19 cases. There was a statistically significant moderate association between age and COVID-19 cases (f = 0.145, p < 0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#The study has shown that population density and population have a good correlation with the number of COVID-19 after Quezon City was removed as a data point. There is a moderate association between age and number of COVID-19 cases. There is a very weak to no association between sex and COVID-19 cases.

The Filipino family in a pandemic: A crosssectional study on the state of the household environment of COVID-19 patients in the Philippines / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#Under COVID-19 guidelines, families are spending extended hours together within limited physical space, giving rise to a living situation that can bring families closer together and/or lead to conflicts. This study aimed to determine the current state of household cohesion and conflict among families with confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines. @*METHODS@#This was a cross-sectional study using the COVID-19 Household Environment Scale (CHES) as a self-administered questionnaire among adult persons who belonged to households with at least one family member previously diagnosed or currently with COVID-19 in August and September 2021. Participants were recruited online using convenience and snowball sampling. The CHES is a 30-item tool which measures conflict and cohesion through the Conflict and Togetherness Subscales, respectively.@*RESULTS@#The composite median values of 386 participants surveyed reveal scores that were clustered to the left for the Conflict Subscale and neutrality for the Togetherness Subscale.@*CONCLUSION@#There is a general increase in household conflict and a non-significant change in togetherness among the surveyed families. The composite median values, if taken compoundly, imply the existence of more conflict and less togetherness.

Are risky behaviors associated with tattoos? The association of tattooing with non-sexual health risk behaviors among Filipino college students / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#The study aimed to determine the association of body tattooing and health risk behaviors among young adult Filipinos in a university in Metro Manila, as previous studies have linked tattooing to health risk behaviors such as alcoholism, violence, suicidality, illegal drug use and smoking.@*METHODS@#A convenience sample of students enrolled in randomly selected colleges from a university were recruited for the study. Researchers administered the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to the participants. Prevalence rate ratios were computed, and chi-square was utilized to test for significance and strength of association of the variables mentioned.@*RESULTS@#Among the risk behaviors studied, only smoking had a significant association with tattooing, with tattooed individuals being two times more likely to be engaged in smoking. Alcoholism, violence, suicidality and illegal drug use did not show significant associations with tattooing. @*CONCLUSION@#The presence of body tattoos was associated with increased engagement in smoking behaviors, though the association between tattooing and other risk behaviors should be further explored.

Experiences of first year medical students from their teachers beyond the grave / The Health Sciences Journal

Introduction@#Dissecting cadavers to study Human Anatomy is an integral part of first year medical education. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of the first year medical students during their first day of cadaver dissection.@*Methods@#This study analyzed interviews of three first year medical students, chosen via purposive sampling, who were present during the first day of cadaver dissection in gross anatomy. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a Husserlian descriptive phenomenological approach.@*Results @#Five common themes were identified: 1) fear of the unknown, 2) group dynamics, 3) sense of awe and amazement of the cadaver's body, 4) respect for the body, and 5) taming of death as a rite of passage to being a doctor.@*Conclusion @#Of the five emergent themes, taming death as a rite of passage to being a doctor is the essence of the experiences of the first year medical students during the first day of cadaver dissection.