Community Health Nursing in the Philippines

1. PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING
IN THE PHILIPPINES
AT A GLANCE

2. Department of Health (DOH)- “Community health
nursing is a unique blend of nursing and public health
practice woven into a human service that properly
developed and applied a tremendous impact on
human well-being.”
- Community health nursing have evolved in response to
the challenges of times, so has its practice been
influenced by the changing global and local health
trends. These global and country health imperatives
brought public health nursing into new frontiers and
have positioned nurses to emerge as leaders in health
promotion and advocacy.

3. Part of paramedical and medical
intervention/approach which is concerned on
the health of the whole population.
 Aims:
1. Health promotion
2. Disease prevention
3. Management of factors affecting health

4. ROLES OF A COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE:
 Clinician - health care provider, takes care of the sick at
home or in the RHU
 Health Educator - aims towards health promotion and
illness prevention through dissemination of correct
information
 Facilitator - establishes multi-sectoral linkages by referral
system
 Supervisor - monitors and supervises the performance of
BHS staff
 Health Advocator - speaks and acts on behalf of the client
 Collaborator - works with other health team members

5. HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
 The Philippine health care system has rapidly evolved
with many challenges through time. Health service
delivery was devolved to the Local Government Units
(LGUs) in 1991, and for many reasons, it has not
completely surmounted the fragmentation issue. Health
human resource struggles with the problems of
underemployment, scarcity and skewed distribution.
There is a strong involvement of the private sector
comprising 50% of the health system but regulatory
functions of the government have yet to be fully
maximized.
 Health facilities in the Philippines include government
hospitals, private hospitals and primary health care
facilities.

6.  The Human Resources for Health are the main drivers of the
health care system and are essential for the efficient
management and operation of the public health system. They are
the health educators and providers of health services. The
Philippines has a huge human reservoir for health. However,
they are unevenly distributed in the country. Most are
concentrated in urban areas such as Metro Manila and other
cities.
 Rural Health Units (RHUs) and Barangay Health Centers were the
most visited health facilities in almost all the regions except for
NCR and CAR, where most of the clients visited private
hospital/clinic for medical advice or treatment. The most
common reasons for seeking health care were illness or injury
(68 percent), medical checkup (28 percent), dental care (2
percent), and medical requirement (1 percent) (NSO, 2008). With
regard to child delivery, more than thirty-six percent of infants
are still delivered by hilots despite aggressive efforts of the
Department of Health to promote facility-based delivery (National
Statistics Office, 2008).

7. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE AS AN APPROACH
TO DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES
• WHO defines primary health care as essential health care made universally
accessible to individuals and families in the community by means acceptable to
them through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country
can afford at every stage of development.
Primary health care (PHC), first introduced through the Alma
Ata Declaration of 1978, emphasizes that addressing health
needs should be people-centered and multi-sectoral in
approach. The recently passed Universal Health Care
(UHC) Law in the Philippines puts PHC center stage
through reforms aimed to improve health system
performance. While the vision is laudable, making it happen
is challenging.

8. ELEMENTS/COMPONENTS OF
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
1. Environmental sanitation (adequate supply of
safe water and good waste disposal)
2. Control of communicable diseases
3. Immunization
4. Health education
5. Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning
6. Adequate food and proper nutrition
7. Provision of medical care and emergency
treatment
8. Treatment of locally endemic diseases
9. Provision of essential drugs

9. HEALTH SERVICES:
SNIPPETS

10. NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM

11. MATERNAL CARE

12. SUPPLEMENTAL IMMUNIZATIONS

13. COVID-19 RESPONSE

14. THANK YOU.