Public Health on Duty

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Latest Episodes:

110: Making a Difference in Communities through Public Health Sep 03, 2022

Imagine this: you’re living in a rural community, and the nearest health center is still a boat ride away. When you get to the health center, however, there are no medicines available. This is sadly a common conundrum in the Philippines. So how do we make health accessible, available, and acceptable for everyone? Dr. Fonsy Regala, Chief of the Program Implementation and Outreach Division of the Department of Health- Health Promotion Bureau, shares his experiences working both for communities at the grassroots level and working with communities at a national scale to make people-centered solutions.

If you would like to learn more about the community health promotion efforts of the Department of Health, check out their playbooks through this link: http://bit.ly/HPB_2021Playbooks

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

Mobilizing the Community for Better Health: What the Rest of America Can Learn from Northern Manhattan by Allan Formicola and Lourdes Hernandez-Cordero https://amzn.to/3QfDbFR
Engaging Your Community: A Toolkit for Partnership, Collaboration, and Action by John Snow, Inc. (JSI) https://bit.ly/3D0X7t7

You can visit the EpiMetrics, Inc. website at www.epimetrics.com.ph. You can also follow us on Facebook at Epimetrics Inc., and on Instagram through @epimetricsph. Contact us through our email: publichealthonduty@gmail.com.

This podcast was produced by Abigail Tan of EpiMetrics Inc and Antonette Mendoza of Big Baby Studios. It was edited and hosted by Angeli Magdaraog and Martha dela Paz of EpiMetrics Inc. It contains original theme music by Big Baby Studios’ Peavey Nicolas, who also engineered the episode. A special thanks to our executive producer, Dr. John Q. Wong.

109: Serbisyong Sulit at Dekalidad: How Health Technology Assessment Ensures Health Interventions and Commodities are Worth the Price Sep 03, 2022

Keeping in mind the fundamental principle in economics that resources are finite, how do governments decide which health services to invest in? Join us with Dana S. Bayani, health economist and PhD student in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health of the National University of Singapore as we discuss the importance of health technology assessment in ensuring that health interventions and commodities are always worth their prices.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

Evaluating Health Interventions: An Introduction to Evaluation of Health Treatments, Services, Policies, and Organizational Interventions by John Øvretveit https://amzn.to/3BaQmn1
Evaluating the Healthcare System: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity by Lu Aday https://amzn.to/3wVLM9Q

Did this episode spark your interest in HTA? You may find the work of the HTA Division of the DOH at https://hta.doh.gov.ph/.

This podcast was produced by Abigail Tan of EpiMetrics Inc and Antonette Mendoza of Big Baby Studios. It was edited and hosted by Angeli Magdaraog and Martha dela Paz (@_callmemartha) of EpiMetrics Inc. It contains original theme music by Big Baby Studios’ Peavey Nicolas, who also engineered the episode. A special thanks to our executive producer, Dr. John Q. Wong.

108: Ensuring Safe and Quality Healthcare: Health Regulation Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic Sep 03, 2022

Modern problems require modern solutions, but in the realm of public health, how do we decide what makes the cut? Health regulation helps set the standard for the safety and quality of health care, and with the help of our guest, Lindsay Orsolino, and her experience in the Department of Health while handing the Health Regulations Team and the Food and Drug Administration, we can better understand how our COVID-19 laboratories came about and how that vaccine made it to your arm.

Bonus: Find discussions on mental health advocacy and the current work being done at the Department!

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendation through the link below:

Global Health Law by Lawrence O. Gostin https://amzn.to/3efbD61

107: Measuring the Cost of One’s Health: The Importance of Health Economics and Health Financing Sep 01, 2022

Can you really put a price on health? That’s where cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and other types of similar analysis comes in. Putting a price tag is needed to know what health initiatives should be prioritized and even how it affects the economy too. Join us with Dr. Valerie Gilbert Ulep, Senior Research Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, as we discuss how this type of research work is done and the impact it has on our different health programs.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

1. Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe by Keith O'Brien https://amzn.to/3cz4s8a
2. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson https://amzn.to/3Tu3r1T

106: Effective Health Communication and Social Determinants of Health Aug 27, 2022

With internet access comes a wealth of information. So how can you effectively communicate your health agenda with your audience, and eventually, influence healthy behaviors? Join us with Dr. Meng Maddumba, Chief of the Behavioral Change and Social Mobilization Division of the Health Promotion Bureau as we discuss effective health communication, social determinants of health, and strategies in delivering COVID-19 facts to different types of audiences.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start-- and Why They Don't Go Away by Heidi J. Larson https://amzn.to/3wzYomB
The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science by Scott L. Montgomery https://amzn.to/3TpBTuK

105: Epidemiology As a Tool in Combating Diseases Aug 27, 2022

If there's one good thing that the COVID-19 pandemic did, it's highlighting the importance of epidemiology and disease surveillance. Everyday, Filipinos are on the edge of their seats waiting for how many cases, deaths, and recoveries are reported daily. Join us with Arianne M. Zamora, an epidemiologist, as we walk through her experience in the COVID-19 Unit of the DOH and how epidemiology is important not only in infectious diseases but also non-communicable diseases and injuries.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund https://amzn.to/3PUnSlH
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality by Angus Deaton https://amzn.to/3pMzSuP

104 Steering the Course Through the Philippine Health Care Provider Network Aug 20, 2022

From k-drama to visionary mentors to personal convictions, your nudge to pursue a career in public health can come from different and surprising places. But when you do decide to join the force, it’s vital to know the ins and outs of primary care, health care provider networks, and even health insurance. Let’s join Angeli and Martha as they interview long time public health professional and Chevening scholar Lorra Sayson about navigating the health care provider network and the fundamentals of health insurance.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

1. Slow Medicine: The Way to Healing by Victoria Sweet https://amzn.to/3K5HemA
2. God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by Victoria Sweet https://amzn.to/3CoOh8d

103 The Sisyphus Dilemma: Managing Consecutive Outbreaks Aug 20, 2022

From one outbreak to another, how did the Philippine health system manage to keep running? Join us in our talk with Dr. Kim Patrick Tejano, the Officer in Charge- Chief of the National Immunization Program and Financial and Supply Chain Monitoring Division of the Department of Health-Disease Control and Prevention Bureau as we learn about his extensive experience managing vaccine-derived polio, COVID-19 virus, and different immunization programs.
Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:
1. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry https://amzn.to/3webDcr
2. Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases by Paul A. Offit M.D. https://amzn.to/3PG8UiW
You can visit the EpiMetrics, Inc. website at www.epimetrics.com.ph. You can also follow us on Facebook at Epimetrics Inc., and on Instagram through @epimetricsph. Contact us through our email: publichealthonduty@gmail.com.

102 How the Health Policy Cycle, Through Health Promotion, Ultimately Empowers People Aug 20, 2022

We might not think of it as a health policy, but did you know that bike lanes were part of a health promotion initiative? This is an example of a seemingly ordinary program affecting people’s everyday lives that actually had to go through the tedious policy development cycle. That means a lot of research, planning, and evaluation, with lots of different organizations working together to achieve a single health goal. Listen to our guest, Rodley M. Carza, OIC-Chief of the Policy, Planning, Standards, and Research Division of the Health Promotion Bureau, as he walks us through the policy process. A nurse turned into a full time public health practitioner, Rodley specializes in health policy development and health policy and systems research.
Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:
1. Which Country Has the World's Best Health Care? By Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel https://amzn.to/3pxXNyc
2. The Trillion Dollar Revolution: How the Affordable Care Act Transformed Politics, Law, and Health Care in America by Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Abbe R. Gluck https://amzn.to/3pznBcY

101 Public Health Lawyers and the Philippine COVID-19 Response Aug 13, 2022

Yup! You’ve read that right. Lawyers in public health. They played a huge part in responding to the country’s biggest public health emergency thus far, along with other silent heroes in the public health field. In this episode, join us as we recount the early days of the pandemic with Atty. Faith Laperal, former Head Executive Assistant of the DOH Office of the Secretary, and Atty. Geneve Masahud, former Head Executive Staff of the PhilHealth Office of the Chairperson.

Get a preview of this episode's JQW Book Club book recommendations through the links below:

100 Public Health on Duty Jul 27, 2022

We’re not all doctors! The Philippine public health system is a behemoth of networks, actors, policies, and programs. So, who is behind the wheel of this complex system? Listen to the stories of different Philippine public health workers thriving in their fields and learn how they serve their country through their expertise.

In our first season, join Martha and Angeli, public health workers in their own right, as they interview key players in the Philippine public health system. Their guests will share about their advocacies, how they ended up working in the public health sector, significant learnings in dealing with the pandemic, and why they choose to stay and serve through public health.

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