Authors: Joycelyn A. Filoteo, Esther O. Dela Cruz, Rebecca A. Guarino.
Internationally, the development of partnerships between institutions of higher learning and the communities they serve is stressed as a priority [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the social accountability of health professional education institutions as ‘the obligation to direct education, research and service activities towards addressing the priority health concerns of the community, region and/or nation that they have a mandate to serve” [2].
The Far Eastern University (FEU), being true to its undertaking of being of service to the broader Philippine society, brings its social accountability role into fruition through its community extension services. This is considered as an “application” of its academic thrust of “nurturing a service-oriented and environment–conscious community which seeks to contribute to the advancement of the global society.” One of the community extension services endeavored by FEU is the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Project which was started in 2009. The project aims to develop the capabilities of the residents of GK, as partners in community development. The health component was handled by the FEU-Institute of Nursing through a training that focused on basic health skills among selected members of the GK.
The study aimed to describe the impact of the GK Core Group health skills training program among its participants and to gather concrete information to assess the application of skills and knowledge to practice in terms of addressing the simple health needs of the community and in eventually becoming partners for health of the community. It also identified and documented gaps that are needed to be addressed in making them truly effective and efficient
collaborators for health in the community. A qualitative descriptive design was used in the study through a focus group discussion, participated in by the members of the GK core group. Content analysis was used to identify the major themes that emerged from the study. Four (4) themes emerged. These are (1) reactions on the training, (2) significant learnings from the training, (3) personal impact and value of the training, and (4) challenges and future directions.
The results have illumined the value of the training on health provided to the GK core group members in developing them to become partners on health. The competency based approach used in the training provided good results. It raised the level of confidence or self-efficacy of the participants and had paved the way towards empowerment. There is a need, however, for continuous training and inclusion of additional topics that would be pertinent to the felt and identified health problems of the community. It is also recommended that the scope of the training be reviewed and expanded to include DOH (Department of Health) programs. A mechanism that would officially put them into the mainstream as valuable health human resource to bridge the gap between the community that they serve and the formal health services of the community is also recommended.
View/Download pdf