KIDNEY DISEASE NANANATILING ISA SA PANGUNAHING SANHI NG KAMATAYAN SA SORSOGON

SORSOGON PROVINCE (June 25) – Inihayag ni Provincial Health Officer Dr. Edgar Garcia na nananatiling isa sa sampung kadahilanan ng pagkakamatay sa Sorsogon mula taong 2004 hanggang 2009 ang sakit sa bato o kidney disease.

Aniya, maging sa buong rehiyon ng Bikol at sa buong bansa ay nananatiling pangunahing suliranin din sa pampublikong kalusugan ang sakit sa bato.

Kaugnay nito, patuloy ang kanilang kampanya katuwang ang Philippine Information Agency at iba pang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ukol sa wastong pangangalaga ng kidney partikular ngayong Hunyo kung saan taunang ipinagdiriwang ang National Kidney Month sa bisa ng Presidential Proclamation 184.

“On-going din ang aming pagsasagawa urinalysis, blood glucose at total cholesterol testing at iba pang mga aktibidad na mahalaga upang mapukaw ang kamalayan ng publiko ukol sa pag-iwas sa pagkakaroon ng sakit sa bato,” pahayag pa niya.

Kasama rin sa kanilang kampanya ang pagpapabot sa publiko ng mga mahahalagang impormasyon ukol sa hakbang sa paggamot sa mga may sakit sa bato at ng organ donation program sa ilalim ng REDCOP o Renal Disease Control Program ng Department of Health at National Kidney and Transplant Institute o NKTI.

Samantala, isang libreng dialysis machine mula sa Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) ang tinanggap ng Provincial Health Office nito lamang nakaraang linggo.

Ang dialysis machine ay handog ng PCSO mula sa presidential fund na naisakatuparan sa pagsisikap na rin ni Sorsogon Governor Sally A. Lee.

Ayon sa gobernador, bahagi ito ng limang milyong pisong halaga ng mga kagamitang kinabibilangan ng isang dialysis machine at anim na karagdagang mga ambulansya.

Dagdag din niya na sa pamamagitan nito ay maiibsan din ang bigat ng alalahanin ng mga pasyenteng dina-dialysis at kapamilya nito lalo pa’t malaki ang gastos na ginugugol ng mga sumasailalim sa dialysis. Bennie A. Recebido, PIA Sorsogon)

Read more: http://pia-sorsogon.blogspot.com

Filed under: Department of Health, Health Tips, Healthy Living, Sorsogon News Updates, KIDNEY DISEASE NANANATILING ISA SA PANGUNAHING SANHI NG KAMATAYAN SA SORSOGON

Family planning via videoke eyed

MANILA, Philippines – Citing a study that Filipinos are naturally shy to talk about sex and other things considered taboo, the Department of Health (DOH) is preparing an interactive information campaign to educate the public about family planning.

“We are looking at non-traditional materials like interactive comics, text messaging and videoke to be able to communicate to couples and teach them about family planning,” said Nilo Yacat, media and communication adviser of HealthPro, a joint program of the DOH and USAID.

Yacat said the survey they conducted among Filipino couples showed that music is one way of encouraging Filipinos to talk about sex and family planning. “Based on our survey, most Filipinos are interested to use contraceptives, however, they are too shy to discuss with other people, even health providers,” Yacat said. “But we have also found out that through music and other communication medium we would be able to let them talk about things which are considered taboo like sex and family planning.”

Production on the family planning videos will start soon. The repertoire will include the songs “Let’s Wait a While” by Janet Jackson and “Mama” of Spice Girls. The videos would be distributed to married couples by September. The videos will be first used in the mobile health caravan that will be going around different barangays nationwide.

Yesterday, the DOH also launched a new communication strategy to encourage more Filipino couples to practice family planning. Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the DOH would be using pre-tested materials to promote contraceptive use among men and women. “This time the DOH is no longer focusing on the different methods of contraceptives, but on the benefits of practicing family planning,” she said. Cabral said the country’s population growth is declining because more women are undergoing abortion.

“The number of Filipino women resorting to abortion rose to as high as 800,000 annually because of the unmet need for family planning,” she said. She expressed confidence that the new family planning campaign would enable Filipino couples to make intelligent choices in family planning. “The DOH is not imposing, we are just giving Filipino couples the information they need to make intelligent and right decisions,” she said.

By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)

Via: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/06/22/10/‘rp-sailors-unsung-heroes-industry’

Filed under: Department of Health, Family planning via videoke eyed

DepEd orders drug test

By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT

The Department of Education (DepEd) announced Wednesday it will conduct anew its nationwide Random Drug Testing (RDT) this coming school year in private and public secondary schools.

The order is a follow-up to its drug test in 2009 where 72 out of 29,059 students tested positive for drug use or a prevalence rate of 0.24 percent.

Majority of the students who were confirmed positive for illegal drug use were from Metro Manila.

DepEd Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the RDT was conducted among secondary students from February to December last year through the collaborated efforts of DepEd, Department of Health (DoH), and the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

“It was conducted among secondary students in compliance with a presidential directive to include for testing all public and private secondary schools,” he said.

In more than 10,000 schools where the RDT was conducted, the initial results showed that there were 90 positive cases from the screening test. “But the final results show that 72 were confirmed wherein 70 students use marijuana and two use shabu,” said Malaya.

Although it was revealed that there was 0.24 percent or less than one percent confirmed positive from the testing, DepEd was saddened by the final result. “We are half-heartened but rest assured that we will strengthen our campaign against illegal drug use. It does not start and end here,” Malaya added.

To ensure that the 23 million incoming elementary and high school students will be informed about illegal drug use and its ill effects, DepEd continues to strengthen the implementation of the National Drug Education Program (NDEP).

“This gives emphasis to the integration of drug prevention concepts in appropriate subject or learning areas at both elementary and secondary levels and alternative learning system, and in co-curricular activities,” explained Malaya.

Although there is a relatively low rate of drug use among secondary students in the 2009 RDT, DepEd encouraged NDEP program coordinators to urge principals of schools – those who have students with positive cases – to come up with specific interventions.

“They are also encouraged to conduct periodic monitoring of program implementation in close coordination with the local government units and other concerned government and non-government organizations,” said Malaya.

DepEd also lauded the efforts of guidance counselors in the secondary schools because they were the ones who were more active in initiating different school activities that were geared toward drug abuse prevention.

Last year, DepEd and DoH officials discussed the coverage and the best practices as well as the issues and concerns for the program with RDT team members. The 2010 Work and Financial Plan for the drug testing and intervention was also formulated.

Filed under: Campus Talk, Department of Education, Department of Health, Education, Sorsogon News Updates, DepEd orders drug test

MEDICAL GROUPS DARE NEW ADMINISTRATION TO CURB SMOKING AMONG THE YOUTH

Source: Department of Health

Medical groups challenged the new Administration of President-elect Noynoy Aquino to decisively act and prevent more youth from getting hooked to smoking addiction amid increasing efforts of the tobacco industry to storm the market with cigarette promotional activities in stores, concert & sports events and other entertainment circles.

In a statement issued to the media, the medical doctors belonging to the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) and Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) expressed their alarm over the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released recently by the World Health Organization and the Department of Health.

“Our young generation will continue to be the hapless victims of the tobacco industry’s conscious efforts to lure them to smoking. They continue to bombard the stores with promotional materials, cigarette brand signages that are most accessible to our young’s near schools, malls and other major point-of-sale establishments,” said Dr. Eugene Ramos, PCP President.

Ramos cited the GATS results that show seven out of ten Filipinos aged 15 years old and above noticed cigarette advertisements. These were seen mostly in stores, posters, leaflets and calendars. About three in every ten Filipinos surveyed said they noticed pro-cigarette promotions in the form of brand names and cigarette logos in clothes.

“We call on our newly-elected President to support the efforts of the Department of Health to protect our children from the onslaught of tobacco promotions and advertisements. The Health Department needs to provide our children with health information that will effectively compete with the sophisticated marketing strategies of the tobacco industry,” said Dr. Abundio Balgos, PCCP President.

Balgos said the children need to be informed of the real consequences of smoking on their physical well-being and these are not effectively addressed in the existing health warning placed in cigarette packs.

The groups urged the DOH to provide more effective health information in cigarette packs because these are most accessible to tobacco users.

“In the marketing parlance, the youths are called ‘replacement smokers’ and they are the ones now being targeted by these tobacco companies. The battle against the tobacco industry for the hearts and minds of our children is tough and the government has no choice but to intervene on behalf of the health of the future generation,” said Balgos.

Filed under: Department of Health, Health Tips, Healthy Living, Department of Health, MEDICAL GROUPS DARE NEW ADMINISTRATION TO CURB SMOKING AMONG THE YOUTH, No Smoking Campaign