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Lack of self-care has strongly been associated with stress and burnout among nurse educators. It has long been a silent battle as they struggle with academia, clinical practice, and research. Challenges identified that contribute to lack of self-care are heavy workloads, limited facilities for instruction, lack of support for professional advancement, and limited self-care facilities. In support of the Alma Ata declaration in empowering and assisting individuals to obtain knowledge, skills, and resources to preserve health, this paper advocates the need to foster and establish a self-care culture for nurse educators in the Philippines through the Reflect, Recharge, Revive Program. The program framework of Reflect through self-assessment and self-reflection, Recharge through self-care education and training, and Revive for sustainability are collected from various programs already used by some nursing schools that have been proven effective in their respective organizations. Its integration into the current policies and guidelines, including policy frameworks of nursing institutions, will help address stress and burnout associated with a lack of self-care among nurse educators. As a healthy policy, it is believed to positively affect nursing education, especially in decreasing faculty turnover and increasing job performance and self-fulfillment in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between devolution, health financing and public financial management processes in health-or the lack of coherence between them-can have profound implications for a country's progress towards universal health coverage. This paper explores this relationship in seven Asian and African countries (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia and the Philippines), highlighting challenges and suggesting policy solutions. First, subnational governments rely heavily on transfers from central governments, and most are not required to allocate a minimum share of their budget to health. Central governments channelling more funds to subnational governments through conditional grants is a promising way to increase public financing for health. Second, devolution makes it difficult to pool funding across populations by fragmenting them geographically. Greater fiscal equalisation through improved revenue sharing arrangements and, where applicable, using budgetary funds to subsidise the poor in government-financed health insurance schemes could bridge the gap. Third, weak budget planning across levels could be improved by aligning budget structures, building subnational budgeting capacity and strengthening coordination across levels. Fourth, delays in central transfers and complicated procedures for approvals and disbursements stymie expenditure management at subnational levels. Simplifying processes and enhancing visibility over funding flows, including through digitalised information systems, promise to improve expenditure management and oversight in health. Fifth, subnational governments purchase services primarily through line-item budgets. Shifting to practices that link financial allocations with population health needs and facility performance, combined with reforms to grant commensurate autonomy to facilities, has the potential to enable more strategic purchasing., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© World Health Organization 2024. Licensee BMJ.)

Purpose: This paper aims to examine key obligations of states to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) under the right to health framework in the context of COVID-19. As a case study, it also describes the state of health in places of detention in the Philippines during the pandemic, with an end view of providing granular recommendations for prison policy reforms. Design/methodology/approach: Relevant rules under international human rights law related to places of detention were thematically analyzed to articulate the scope of the right to health of PDLs. To describe the state of places of detention in the Philippines, this paper relied on archival research of news from selected local mainstream and specialized media. Findings: The right to health framework provides a foundation for the response to COVID-19 in places of detention. Key concerns include increase in the number of infections, vulnerabilities in physical and mental health, and the spread of infection among correctional staff. Long-standing structural constraints and limited health information compound the threat of COVID-19. The Philippines must comply with its human rights obligations to PDLs to effectively address COVID-19-related concerns. Practical implications: Policy reforms in Philippine places of detention must include application of community standards on physical and mental health, implementation of emergency release and application of non-custodial measures for long-term prison decongestion. Originality/value: This is one of the few papers to analyze human rights in health care in places of detention during a pandemic, as nuanced in the context of the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that public addresses of heads of state are critical for public health policy during pandemics. Drawing insights from studies that investigate metaphors and frames in political and public health discourses, it explores how the Philippine government, especially President Rodrigo Duterte, framed COVID-19. In doing so, it hopes to broaden the understanding of how political rhetoric may be constitutive of public health policy. The analysis of the public addresses entailed three interrelated levels: (1) a description of broad historical, social, political, and cultural contexts of public addresses under investigation, (2) an explanation of the communicative situation including the production and consumption of these addresses—processes that mediate between the text and context, and (3) a textual analysis, which substantiates how the discursive patterns are realized through the president's rhetorical choices. Our analysis reveals that the president consistently deployed the rhetorical strategies of (1) enemization, (2) legitimization of the incumbent administration, and (3) dismissal of critics. The configuration of these strategies sustains a binaristic discourse structure that lays blame on a political other while the government asserts its legitimacy during a public health crisis. These rhetorical strategies organize support for public health policy by a populist administration to manage COVID-19. Implications of political rhetoric to public health and risk communication are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding people's concepts of illness and health is key to crafting policies and communications campaigns to address a particular medical concern. This paper gathers cultural knowledge on infectious disease causation, prevention, and treatment the Philippines that are particularly relevant for the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzes their implications for public health. This paper draws from ethnographic work (e.g. participant observation, interviews, conversations, virtual ethnography) carried out individually by each of the two authors from February to September 2020. The data was analyzed in relation to the anthropological literature on local health knowledge in the Philippines. We find that notions of hawa (contagion) and resistensiya (immunity) inform people's views of illness causation as well as their preventive practices - including the use of face masks and 'vitamins' and other pharmaceuticals, as well as the ways in which they negotiate prescriptions of face mask use and physical distancing. These perceptions and practices go beyond biomedical knowledge and are continuously being shaped by people's everyday experiences and circulations of knowledge in traditional and social media. Our study reveals that people's novel practices reflect recurrent, familiar, and long-held concepts - such as the moral undertones of hawa and experimentation inherent in resistensiya. Policies and communications efforts should acknowledge and anticipate how these notions may serve as either barriers or facilitators to participatory care and improved health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malnutrition remains a public health burden in the Philippines, with the country struggling to meet global nutrition targets. Objective: This study aims to review the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) and its progress in addressing malnutrition in the Philippines. Methods: A narrative literature review of the PPAN and its implementation from 1974 to 2022 was conducted, including an analysis of relevant data on the nutrition status and programs for Filipinos. Results: The study found that the PPAN has been largely supportive in addressing malnutrition in the Philippines over the years. However, obstacles hindering the achievement of its nutrition-related goals have been identified. Challenges include inadequate coordination of programs at the local level, concerns regarding data quality, and insufficient training of personnel involved in implementing the PPAN. The results also indicate that the country has made limited progress toward achieving the global nutrition targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to revisit and refine the PPAN to respond to the changing nature of malnutrition in the country. Recommendations to address the remaining gaps in the planning, implementing, and monitoring of the PPAN are discussed. Finally, the paper offers some valuable insights from the experiences of the PPAN that can be applied to other countries facing comparable nutrition contexts. Plain language title: Understanding the Evolution of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition Plain language summary: This study is a review of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN), which is a comprehensive plan initiated in 1974 to address nutritional issues in the Philippines. The study looks at how the PPAN has been implemented over the years and its effectiveness in addressing malnutrition. It also discusses challenges and issues with the PPAN, such as compliance problems at the village level, and the need for stronger political will and context-specific approaches. Additionally, the study provides recommendations for the next iterations of the PPAN in order to achieve sustainable nutrition outcomes, as well as lessons learned for other countries facing similar nutrition problems. Overall, this study highlights the need to reexamine and adapt the PPAN in order to effectively address the changing nature of malnutrition in the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an increasing number of cases strained the country's healthcare system, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the Philippines' workforce vulnerabilities even further. The Philippine government responded by imposing a deployment ban for healthcare workers going abroad in 2020, followed by a deployment cap in 2021. This paper focused on the policy development stage, specifically analyzing the factors that influenced the development of the deployment cap to address the Philippines' problem on healthcare worker shortage. Various sources of information were gathered by conducting a literature and document review, including local main news sources, published literature, government records, organizational documents, position statements, and social media posts from key interest groups such as professional groups and civil servants. The 3I+E (Institutions, Interests, Ideas and External Factors) Framework was used to analyze the factors influencing the policy formulation/development process. Although worker migration has long been accepted as a means of economic salvation for families in the Philippine labor culture, during the COVID-19 crisis, it was viewed as a significant factor and controlling it appeared to be a viable solution to keeping an adequate number of healthcare workers in the country. The deployment cap policy can be viewed as a decision to strike a balance between workforce availability and economic disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic disease is rapidly becoming a greater burden in the world and the leading cause of mortality because of epidemiological transformation. Diabetes is one; with 6.7 million deaths registered in 2021. In the Philippines, a report by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) projects the number of patients with Diabetes in 2030 to reach 5.4 million and 7.5 million by 2045. Diabetes treatment in the Philippines is poor and challenging in terms of resources, government support, and economy. The national health insurance system does not have comprehensive diabetes care coverage and private insurance companies offer limited diabetes coverage. As a result, patients rely on "out-of-pocket" expenses for their laboratory testing and medications, and consequently, nonadherence to therapy. There is a need for an intervention in diabetes care management as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) prevalence posts an upward trend. This paper recommends the following policy statements to strengthen DM care management in a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated nurse-led care system through "3Rs": "Reactivating" the health promotion activities; "Rephrasing" the existing care provisions; and "Re-establishing" care models that will boost the DM management care among the Filipinos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correspondence responds to a recently published editorial by highlighting the interconnectedness of science, policy, politics and activism in addressing the escalating heat index in the Philippines. It underlines the importance of a complete strategy that incorporates scientific information into evidence-based policy, navigates the political environment and encourages grassroots activity to address the complex effects of extreme heat on public health. This paper highlights the necessity of multidisciplinary collaboration among stakeholders in developing effective measures for minimizing the negative health consequences of rising temperatures while also promoting climate resilience and health justice in the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Various terms were used to refer to people who use drugs during Duterte's drug war. • These terms pervade policy documents, bills, laws, memoranda and other official texts. • Examples include 'drug user', 'drug dependent', 'drug personality', and 'drug abuser'. • All these terms contributed to the problematization of people who use drugs. This paper examines the political constructions of people who use drugs in the Philippines throughout the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte (2016–2022), during which the government engaged in a 'war on drugs' and promoted a punitive drug regime. Building on and drawing inspiration from the global drug policy scholarship that has looked at the ways in which drugs are framed and problematised in various domains, this study used qualitative content analysis to review 96 documents from national government agencies - including strategic action plans, directives, memorandums, guidelines, annual reports, and legislative measures. Foremost, the study finds that various terms were interchangeably used to refer to 'drug users' - dependent, offender, personality, abuser - and all of them contributed to the problematisation of people who use drugs as a societal "menace". As "drug dependents", they were likewise portrayed as necessitating treatment or rehabilitation. Moreover, presented as victims or passive subjects, their agency and subjectivity are not acknowledged in the documents, even as counter-discourses, mainly from opposition lawmakers, challenge these portrayals and call for people-centered, harm reduction approaches. Overall, these overlapping framings cast people who use drugs simultaneously as victims, criminals, deviants, and sick individuals to the detriment of their security, health, and well-being - and to the retrogression of drug policy in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The freelance economy has seen rapid growth worldwide in recent years and the Philippines is not an exception. Freelance workers are becoming increasingly common in healthcare and research. Early career researchers carry out most of scientific research and can play a critical role in advancing public health by bringing new perspectives and diversity to the field. Existing literature has mostly focused on the experiences of early career researchers in an institutional academic setting. This study aimed to understand the experiences of freelance early career researchers in the health policy and systems space in the Philippines. Methods: This qualitative study collected data from 18 to 22 March 2022 through virtual interview and focus group discussions. Themes and codes were created based on the topic guide developed. New themes and codes were generated as they emerged. Two researchers coded the data using both a priori and emergent codes. Any coding conflicts were resolved through discussions until intercoder agreement was reached. Interpretation and conclusions from the data were developed by 2 researchers with consideration for its context and relationship between themes. Results: Fifteen current and former freelance researchers participated in the study. Most are female, under 35 years old, and with an undergraduate degree as the highest educational attainment. The findings highlight insights and challenges faced by early career researchers in aspects of: (1) work arrangement, (2) tasks, (3) expectations from senior researchers, (4) development in the health policy and systems field, (5) relationship with peers, and (6) motivations for continuing to work as a freelance health policy and systems researcher. Conclusion: This study reveals the challenges freelance early career researchers face, highlighting the need for enhanced support and recognition amidst rapidly evolving workforce demands and complex health dilemmas. Recommendations include structured mentorship, professional development, innovative funding models, and the establishment of a supportive network. Advocacy for policies ensuring freelancer inclusion in the economy and policy-making is crucial. Future research should investigate their experiences further, including their roles, transitions, and the impacts of funding trends, to foster their development and integration into public health research and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women play a crucial role in the care and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether in paid or unpaid work. This article looks into the lived experience of some of these women infected by COVID-19 while doing their job as care providers. We selected nine women from Cebu City, Philippines. We presented their lived experience through van Manen's phenomenology of practice. Themes of the lived experience reveal pain and separation, suffering and caring, stigma of discrimination, caring response, and supportive relationship in the midst of a health crisis. Our reflections reveal that even in serious vulnerability and sustained domestic burden, women remained steadfast in their caring character. Their caring attitude has turned the quarantine facility into a liveable space where empathy, reciprocity, and relationality dwell and thus help everyone survive the COVID-19 ordeal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses COVID-19 vaccination rollout strategies developed and disseminated the World Health Organization referencing recent correspondence of Cordero. Topics discussed include role of government in COVID-19 vaccines procurement and rollout which is to be proactive, transparent and efficient; analyzes the urgent need to harness the Philippine government's strategic policy-making; and efficient implementation of COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Philippines.

Background: Health policy and systems research (HPSR) has influenced Philippine policies, including tobacco control, mental health, and COVID-19. The Department of Health (DOH) Philippines and Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) launched the Advancing Health through Evidence-Assisted Decisions (AHEAD) with HPSR program in 2017, aiming to build a community of researchers and decision-makers committed to evidence production and utilization. Research systems employ grant management processes for transparency and accountability in research funding, preventing waste, fraud, and misuse of funds. Methods: This study evaluated AHEAD-HPSR's grant management using surveys, interviews, and focus groups to document (1) grant administration processes implemented by DOH and PCHRD, and (2) experiences of grantees, program managers, staff, and policymakers. Data were initially analyzed through the USA Grant Accountability Office's Federal Grant Life Cycle, with new themes created as they emerged. The study identified processes and gaps in the research grant life cycle stages: design/redesign, pre-award, award, implementation, closeout, and research dissemination and utilization. Results: Identification of research areas for the grant are identified using national and departmental research priorities. While Calls for Proposals are posted publicly, researchers that have previously worked with policymakers are contacted directly to submit proposals. The evaluation found that research is delayed by bureaucracies in grant administration, particularly in financial reporting and ethics review processes. Complying with the terminal financial report was identified as the most challenging part of the grant process due to immense auditing requirements. Grantees recommend the simplification of bureaucracy for fund release to enable them to focus on research work. Conclusion: This study contributes to the limited literature on health research grant management in developing countries. Valuable information and recommendations were contributed by stakeholders in this evaluation. These are manifestations of a continuing interest and desire to make health policy and systems research in the Philippines more robust and relevant. It is imperative for the program to continually evolve and build systems most applicable to its multidisciplinary context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence is mounting that the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food and nutrition policies in ways that support market growth and protect against regulatory threats, often at the expense of public health. However, few studies have explored how this occurs in lower - middle income countries. We aimed to explore if and how the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food- and nutrition - related policy processes in the Philippines, a lower - middle income country in East Asia. Methods: Semi - structured key informant interviews were conducted with ten representatives from the Philippines government and non - government organisations closely involved with nutrition policy making in the Philippines. Interview schedules and data analysis were guided by the policy dystopia model, which we used to identify the instrumental and discursive strategies used by corporate actors to influence policy outcomes. Results: Informants were of the view that ultra - processed food companies in the Philippines sought to delay, prevent, water - down and circumvent implementation of globally recommended food and nutrition policies by engaging in a range of strategies. Discursive strategies included various tactics in which globally recommended policies were framed as being ineffective or highlighting potential unintended negative impacts. Instrumental strategies included: directly engaging with policymakers; promoting policies, such as industry - led codes and practices, as substitutes for mandatory regulations; presenting evidence and data that industry has generated themselves; and offering gifts and financial incentives to government individuals and agencies. Conclusions: In the Philippines, the ultra - processed food industry engaged in overt activities designed to influence food and nutrition policy processes in their favour. A range of measures to minimise industry influence on policy processes should be introduced, to ensure that implemented food and nutrition policies align with best practice recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To review how nursing is engaged with genetics/genomics developments in the Philippines' healthcare system. Background: There is an increasing demand for genetics services. However, the number of genetics professionals is lagging with this demand. Nurses play pivotal roles in mainstreaming genetics/genomics across healthcare settings. Sources of evidence: Published and gray literature on genetics/genomics services in the Philippines and roles of nurses and the experiences of the authors. Discussion: Nurses involved in genetics in the Philippines work in specialty genetics clinics and in newborn screening (NBS). Several issues hinder maximizing roles of nurses in genetics, such as the absence of competency standards, inadequate educational preparation, absence of a specialty organization, and increased workload of nurses. Conclusion: The engagement of nursing with genetics/genomics is limited. Increasing awareness on the impact of nursing in genetics/genomics, adopting competency standards, and curricular integration are key if nurses' roles in genetic healthcare are to be realized. Implications for nursing practice: Introducing genetics/genomics systematically in practice environments is crucial. Tools such as the Method for Introducing New Competency Genomics can be used as a guide. Existing population‐based genetics programs such as NBS and rare disease offer a good context to introduce genetics in existing courses in the curriculum. Implications for nursing policy: Nursing leaders need to be aware and recognize the relationship between nursing and genetics/genomics. A local specialty group in genetics and collaboration with international organizations are crucial to advocate the inclusion of genetics/genomics in nursing. Existing genetics/genomics competency standards can be validated in the local context to inform curricular integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social science research has long critiqued how professional ideals of public service can ignore chronic problems within the healthcare industry, placing unfair burden on the "heroism" of individual workers. Yet, fewer studies investigate how healthcare professionals actively negotiate such demands for service, amidst increasing workplace pressures and risks. This paper studies Filipino nurses' response to a government policy that banned them from working overseas in order to channel their labor to local hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on 51 in-depth interviews, we argue that nurses' willingness to serve in the Philippines' COVID-19 hospitals hinged on the point at which the deployment ban interrupted their emigration trajectories. Specifically, nurses' decision to heed their government's call to service depended on whether they saw local hospital experience as valuable for their plans of working abroad. We introduce the concept of "clocking out" to describe how aspiring nurse migrants set limits to the time they devote to local service, as they pursue a career pathway beyond national borders. We discuss how this concept can inform scholarship on nurse retention and professional values, especially for developing nations in times of crisis. • The Philippines banned its nurses from working abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Filipino nurses either resisted or complied with the call to serve in local hospitals. • Migrant nurses view local clinical experience as necessary step towards jobs abroad. • Researchers must study professionalism in the context of migration trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine scares undermine longstanding global health achievements. Remarkably little data has documented the lived experiences of policymakers working amidst vaccine scares and navigating their fallout. As a result, chances and challenges of large-scale national recuperation efforts are poorly understood. This study aims to explore the perspectives of policymakers involved in ongoing efforts to boost vaccine confidence in the Philippines following a 2017 Dengvaxia scare and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Between August and November 2020, we conducted 19 semi-structured narrative interviews with purposively selected policymakers from governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations in the Philippines. Interviews were conducted online, transcribed, and analyzed following the tenets of reflexive thematic analysis. We present results as an emerging model that draws on a chronology conveyed by policymakers in their own words. The Dengvaxia scare proved 'a decisive wedge' that splintered Filipino society and pitted governmental agencies against one another. The scare stoked distorted vaccination narratives, which were 'accelerated rapidly' via social media, and ignited feelings of uncertainty among policymakers of how to convey clear, accurate health messaging and how to prevent drops in care-seeking more broadly. Efforts to regain trust placed exceptional burdens on an already-strained health system. Respondent-driven recommendations on how to reinforce vaccine confidence and improve vaccination rollout include: developing clear vaccine messages, fostering healthcare providers' and policymakers' communication skills, and rebuilding trust within, toward and across governmental agencies. Further research on how to build enabling environments and rebuild trust in and across institutions remains paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared three types of resilience (individual, community, and national resilience), two indicators of distress (sense of danger and distress symptoms) and wellbeing, among samples from Israel, Brazil, and the Philippines, during the "first-wave" of COVID-19 pandemic. Though significant differences were found among the samples regarding all variables, similarities were also emerged. Individual resilience and wellbeing negatively predicted distress symptoms in each sample, and women of all samples reported higher level of distress-symptoms compared with men. The differences between the samples are presented and discussed. Understanding the similarities and the differences, between these cultures, may help developing efficient countermeasures tailored to each country. This knowledge may promote efficient health policy to foster people's ability to cope with the hardship and to prevent future psychological and health implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]