DURING the ongoing Davao Region Athletics Association (Davraa) Meet 2024, Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao City Division Superintendent Reynante Solitario reported that 106 student-athletes encountered various medical issues.
As of April 2, 8:49 p.m., DepEd Davao Region documented cases including colds (30), wounds and coughs (29), headaches (25), abdominal pain and flu (11), toothaches and fever (9), one sports-related traumatic injury, and one student from Digos City diagnosed with dengue.
Solitario assured during the Davraa 2024 press conference on April 3, 2024, that these student-athletes received prompt medical attention and are now in stable condition.
"They are treated and receive basic medicine. They are taken care of by their own nurses in their billeting schools," he said.
While there is no specific data on which sports commonly cause medical issues, Solitario noted that direct contact sports such as wushu, basketball, and athletics are often associated with such incidents.
Each participating division has deployed medical officers in collaboration with their respective Local Government Units (LGUs), particularly City and Municipality Health Offices, to ensure healthcare services for student-athletes.
“Actually, requirement gyud ni sa mga delegations and participating Divisions nga naay mga doctors and nurses nga i-padala. Aside from that, we also have the City Health Office doing their monitoring and giving support… in times of we have Davraa, nakig-partner gyud ta sa LGU (Sending doctors and nurses is a strict requirement for delegations and participating divisions. Alongside this, the City Health Office conducts monitoring and offers support. During Davraa, we collaborate closely with the LGU),” Solitario noted.
The Davao City Health Office deployed three medical teams to each billeting area, consisting of doctors and nurses.
For mild medical issues, standby medical officers attend to students within their respective billeting quarters, while those with more serious conditions are referred to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
"Usually, sa SPMC na refer ang mga students, but those mild lang, sa respective billeting quarters lang nahatagan og medical attention by standby medical officers (Usually, students are referred to the SPMC, but those with mild conditions receive medical attention by standby medical officers at their respective billeting quarters)," Solitario added. Elle Mari Dela Cuesta and Wilbert Duran Jr., DNSC Intern
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