Background: Medication compliance contributes to preventing significant morbidities, such as stroke, among hypertensive patients.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the factors affecting hypertensive patients' medication compliance in Sambag II, Cebu City.
Methods: This study is an observational cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in Barangay Sambag II of Cebu City and involved 170 random, voluntary, self-reporting hypertensive patients. The Tao Yamane formula was used to determine the sample size. An interviewer-guided survey questionnaire was utilized to collect the data for the pilot study. The data were analyzed using Cronbach's Alpha Test for internal consistency and reliability.
Results: Three factors were shown to influence compliance with antihypertensive medications. These are the source of medication, access to medication, and symptoms experienced before intake of anti-hypertensive medications. A factor that significantly affects compliance is the source of medication, wherein hypertensive patients prefer medications from retail pharmacies compared to the free medications supplied by the local health center.
Conclusion: Residents of Sambag II, Cebu City preferred medications from retail pharmacies over the free medications provided by the local health center. Local health units may use this information to implement information drugs regarding the efficacy of medications provided by government agencies. Further studies are recommended to use subgroup analysis on factors influencing compliance and non-compliance to anti-hypertensive medicines.
Background and objectives: Climate anxiety is an emerging concept defined as increased anxiety about climate change and has been linked to negative mental health outcomes. As a relatively new concept, only a few have characterized it and its relationship with mental health, especially in the Global South populations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between climate anxiety and depressive symptoms among undergraduate students from a college in a higher education institution in Manila, Philippines. Specifically, it aimed to (1) determine the proportion of undergraduate students who reported high levels of climate anxiety and depressive symptoms; and (2) determine the association between climate anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional design and a convenience sampling method, the investigators collected data through an online survey to assess levels of climate anxiety and depressive symptoms using the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Data was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.
Results: Among the 148 respondents (N=325), 14.86% had high climate anxiety (i.e., CCAS score ≥3) and 62.84% had high depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score ≥10). Regression analysis showed that the odds of those having high climate anxiety reporting high depressive symptoms are higher than those with low climate anxiety, though this is not significant (OR = 2.53, p=0.144).
Conclusion: The study verifies the existence of climate anxiety among undergraduate students and reflects an alarming mental health situation in the selected college. It is recommended that wide-scope investigations on the current state of climate anxiety and mental health among the youth be done to verify their impacts, along with inter-sectoral efforts such as increasing awareness through health education interventions to improve the youths' mental health literacy and resilience to the effects of climate change, and promoting climate change-responsive mental health services to address these as pressing threats to youth health.
Background: The clinical learning environment (CLE) significantly influenced the nursing students' learning experience. While clinical learning is the heart of nursing education, certain non-academic factors might be influenced by CLE. Consequently, CLE may be affected during a health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: To determine the relationship between nursing students' CLE and their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors in the Central Philippines.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving 462 nursing students enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants. Four self-report questionnaires were adopted to gather the data: a 42-item Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) scale, short-form Grit (Grit-S) scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem (RSE) scale, and Caring Behavior Inventory (CBI-24) scale. Spearman rho and rank-biserial correlation tools were used to analyze the data.
Results: The results indicated that the clinical learning environment was positively associated with academic grit, selfesteem, and caring behavior. Some profiles of the participants, such as age, sex, year level, type of school, leadership experiences, clinical setting experience, and willingness to be a nurse, were significantly associated with the clinical learning environment, academic grit, self-esteem, and/or caring behavior.
Conclusions: Students' CLE influences their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behavior. That is, students who reported a more positive perception of CLE, the higher their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors. Furthermore, some students' profile characteristics influence CLE, academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behavior. Enhancing CLE while promoting grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors of nursing students affiliated with hospitals or any clinical learning settings and promoting alternative means of meeting CLE competencies when face-to-face interactions are restricted during a health crisis are recommended.
Background: Worldwide, the WHO showed that stroke is the second leading cause of death for people above 60, and 5th among the aged 15 to 59 population. In the Philippines, statistics revealed that 500,000 Filipinos suffer from stroke annually. Although preventive efforts have brought about a steady decline in incidence over the last several years, stroke is still the third leading cause of death. Baguio-Benguet Chapter notes a rise in the number of stroke patients affecting both adult and younger age groups. The increasing cases of lifestyle diseases predispose people to stroke. Stroke prevention, management, and rehabilitation are essential in bringing back the normal functioning of stroke patients. Care for stroke clients is a challenging task because of the varied knowledge, practices, and attitudes (KAP) fostering the needs of a stroke client. In the Philippines, family members of the stroke client are more likely to be the preferred caregivers.
Objective: The study determined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the community members and the community resources on stroke prevention, management, and rehabilitation as a basis for program development.
Methods: This study utilized a mixed research design. Data were gathered from 275 residents of Camp 4, Tuba, Benguet using a structured questionnaire, and 10 FGD Groups. Frequency, percentage, and mean computations were done to analyze quantitative data, whereas descriptive analysis was done for qualitative data.
Results: The majority of the respondents (76%) knew that stroke happens due to insufficient blood supply to the brain. Generally, the community agreed about their attitude on the prevention (2.89), management (2.68), and rehabilitation (2.75) of stroke. The community sometimes practices stroke prevention (3.17), management (2.83), and rehabilitation (2.92). Qualitative data revealed that experiences on stroke resulted in scientific knowledge, evidence-based practices, and utilization of existing resources that include personnel, infrastructure, and programs for stroke prevention, management, and rehabilitation.
Conclusion: The experience, social support, and maximized utilization of existing community resources have assisted the knowledge acquisition, favorable attitudes, and safe practices of the community on stroke.
Background: Metastatic pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma is associated with a poor prognosis, with a life expectancy of less than one year at diagnosis, a 5-year survival rate of only 1-2%, and a median survival of 3 to 6 months. In the Philippines, pancreatic cancer is the 14th most common cancer and the 8th leading cause of cancer-related death, with over 153,000 cases and 92,600 deaths reported in 2020. Current literature suggests that in carefully selected patients, synchronous resection of primary pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma with liver metastases can yield favorable surgical outcomes with low morbidity and mortality. However, survival outcome data for such cases within the Philippine population remain limited.
Objective: To evaluate survival rates in patients with pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma with oligometastasis who underwent pancreatic resection and metastasectomy at the Philippine General Hospital from 2011 to 2021.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data collected from the Department of Surgery's electronic medical records, cross-referenced with the Philippine Statistics Authority's death registry. Inclusion criteria included patients aged 19 and above with histologically confirmed pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma with three or fewer metastases. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine overall survival rates.
Results: Of the patients reviewed, 75% were female, with a median age of diagnosis of 60 years. Tumor locations included the pancreatic head (50% of cases), ampullary region (37.5%), and pancreatic body/tail (12.5%). The 1-year survival rate was 62.5%, the 2-year survival rate was 25%, and the median overall survival was 17.3 months, with a range from 7 to 28.8 months.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that synchronous resection of primary tumors and metastases may offer survival benefits for selected patients with metastatic pancreatic and periampullary cancers. However, further prospective clinical trials are necessary to confirm the potential survival advantage of this approach in a broader population.
Background: Long-term treatment and medication compliance are critical for managing conditions like hypertension, yet only 20% of cases are well-controlled, mainly due to socioeconomic factors. The Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 offers a 20% discount on medications to improve compliance, but many seniors need to be made aware of these benefits. Evaluating satisfaction with the Act, specifically regarding its medication-related provisions, is essential for enhancing compliance and health outcomes among senior citizens.
Objective: This study examined the association between satisfaction with the medication provisions of the Senior Citizens Act, the frequency of senior identification card usage, and medication compliance among hypertensive patients.
Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study with 458 hypertensive senior citizens in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, Philippines. Senior citizens were randomly selected and completed a survey using a validated, self-developed questionnaire and the Hill-Bone High Blood Pressure (HB-HBP) compliance scale. We performed linear regression analysis to examine the association between their satisfaction and the use of senior citizens' benefits on their medication compliance.
Results: Senior citizens were 60-88 years old (mean 69; standard deviation [SD] 5.9). Thirty-eight percent were satisfied with the Senior Citizens Act and 49% regularly used their senior citizen card. Senior citizens scored an average of 46.82 (SD 4.96) on the HB-HBP compliance scale (possible range = 14-56), indicating high compliance. Those dissatisfied with the Senior Citizens Act were less compliant with their antihypertensive medications [B (unstandardized beta) = -1.65, 95% CI (Confidence Interval) = -2.70, -0.61]. Similarly, those who rarely or never used their senior identification cards (B = -1.54, 95% CI = -2.61, -0.48) and those who used them occasionally (B = -1.43, 95% CI = -2.57, -0.29) showed lower medication compliance compared to those who used them regularly.
Conclusion: Senior citizens who are satisfied with the medication provisions of the Act and regularly use their senior identification cards exhibit higher compliance with their antihypertensive medications than those with lower satisfaction and infrequent card usage. Interventions should prioritize educational sessions to inform senior citizens about the benefits of the Senior Citizens Act, including how to use their identification cards to access medication discounts effectively.

