AFFILIATES and members of the Central Visayas Consortium for Health Research and Development (CVCHRD) held a two-day workshop, discussing topics about aging and research on geriatrics.
The event was held on May 29-30, 2019 at the Elena O. Diola Memorial Hall inside the Department of Science and Technology 7 in Cebu City.
During the workshop, the National Institute of Health (NIH) showed interactive presentations.
University of the Philippines (UP) Manila established the NIH after its board of regents stamped its approval during its 1,094th meeting on Jan. 26, 1996. The NIH was created with the Gerontology and Disabilities Programs Cluster.
As physicians, academicians and allied medical professionals within the UP system pioneered the NIH-Committee on Aging and Degenerative Diseases, the UP board further established the Institute on Aging (IA) on Dec. 4, 2012.
IA pioneers include current director Shelley de la Vega, professor Maria Stella Giron and research associate Angely Garcia.
They shared their researches during the CVCHRD workshop. De la Vega and Giron are doctors, while Garcia is a nurse.
The three health professionals are advocating for the Filipino elderly to enjoy healthy body, mind and spirit despite their advancing age.
They further said the elderly should be treated with dignity and valued as productive members of society.
In another discussion, medical professionals also want to uphold their mission to create with the aging Filipinos unlimited possibilities for their value-added life through research, service and education. This was the topic shared by Marciana R. Mariñas, the science and technology librarian at the University of San Carlos (USC) and the leader of her school’s delegation.
For her part, De la Vega talked about“Healthy Aging: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment.” Garcia focused on the “Status of Geriatric Research in the Philippines.”
The other speakers include Minerva Vinluan of the Department of Health (DOH)-Disease Prevention and Control Bureau. She explained DOH’s policy on healthy aging.
CVCHRD research ethics committee chair Manuel Emerson S. Donaldo tackled the “Ethics of Research on Older Persons in the Philippines.”
Hannah Pellejo, the project research assistant of the NIH and IA, tackled “Project Data Management and Operations.”
The NIH-Institute of Clinical Epidemiology research assistant professors also presented other substantial topics.
Mary Ann J. Ladia introduced “Qualitative Methods in the Study of the Aging Population,” while Olivia T. Sison discussed “Statistics on Health Research.”