Health Policy Research Based on An Integrated Community Approach to Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Disorders Among the Elderly Filipinos

Dr. Francis Gregory R. Samonte​

  • Keywords:
  • Non-Communicable Diseases, Mental Health
  • Abstract:
  • Non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mental health (MH) disorders are forms of chronic diseases that remains two of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, which has created health systems challenges in most low to middle income countries to which the Philippines belong. Current and future challenges brought about by these diseases threaten to overwhelm healthcare infrastructures in low-resource settings (i.e., intercity, and rural areas) where chronic conditions of poor health policy environment and less than robust strategies have led to persistent, intractable poor community-health outcomes. Indeed, the disproportionate number of elderly individuals in these communities that are affected by chronic diseases has important implications in the overall health outcome of the country; particularly in light of the recent implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) as an important health policy development which will significantly affect the elderly management of care at the community level setting. Although there are various factors that can lead to chronic diseases in the elderly, the study aimed to determine how the emergence of socio-behavioral and lifestyle related changes- from physical activity, sleep, and diet and nutrition- converged to create an implacable condition in a developing country setting where health resources were often inadequate and underserved. The lack of focus research on the morphology of chronic diseases affecting the elderly community required immediate attention to mitigate the spread while also addressing health disparity and inequity. In achieving this, the methodology was based on mixed method analysis using the following processes: 1) population level analysis based on the national healthcare information system; 2) community intervention (i.e. physical activity, sleep) on an elderly cohort group; and 3) interview of key decision- and health policy- makers both nationally and from local government units. In conjunction with the data gathering and analysis, assessment of the
PDF
Published
  • November 18, 2022
Categories
Copyright
  • Copyright (c) 2022  Bruno Asiimwe
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.