Perception and satisfaction survey of foster families hosting students of the University of the Philippines in the community rotation

ABSTRACT

Background@#Immersion programs under the Community Health and Development Program (CHDP) of the University of the Philippines involved students living in a foster home. The experiences of foster families are valuable in improving the community immersion program.@*Objective@#To determine the perceptions and satisfaction of foster families in hosting students of the University of the Philippines rotating in the five select municipalities of Cavite@*Methods@#This was a cross sectional study utilized a semi-structured questionnaire. Data collection was done by a research assistant who was not involved with the students rotation@*Results@#A total of 90 foster parents who hosted 430 students in three consecutive years were included. In general, there was favorable perception towards hosting students with a mean score of 8.47 (SD± 1.37). The lowest scores were reported by 13 families (14%) at a score of 6/10. The weekly monetary contributions, free consultations, monitoring of health conditions, acquiring additional knowledge about health prevention and if needed, an easy referral to Philippine General Hospital were some of the reported benefits. On the other hand, poor socialization, negative attitudes, non-performance of household chores and lack of privacy were the disadvantages expressed by families@*Conclusion@#Foster families were generally happy and satisfied however there were mixed positive and negative perceptions in hosting UP students rotating in the community