UP CIDS welcomes new research program on health systems

The University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) officially welcomes the Program on Health Systems Development (PHSD), a new research program focusing on systems-oriented and interdisciplinary research toward improving the health of individuals and populations and developing the Philippine health landscape. The Program is led by Dr. Antonio Miguel Dans (Convenor) and Dr. Jose Rafael Marfori (Co-convenor) of the UP Manila College of Medicine (UPCM) and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
The PHSD investigates problems of and innovates solutions for health systems and hopes to bridge some of the persistent divides that have hampered health systems in the Philippines. These include, among others, barriers between public health and clinical-surgical medicine; among levels and types of health professionals; among the differing perspectives and sometimes opposing interests of patients, health professionals, health policymakers, and other stakeholders; and between the public and private sector.
Adopting a systems-thinking perspective, the Program facilitates and promotes dialogue between medical and non-medical fields to produce insights, methods, networks, and opportunities related to the improvement of the health of individuals and populations and the development of the Philippine health landscape.
The flagship project of the Program is Philippine Primary Care Studies (PPCS). The PPCS is a series of quasi-experimental pilot studies in representative settings in the Philippines: corporate, rural, and geographically isolated disadvantaged areas (GIDAs). The PHSD will also conduct studies, surveys, and data mining on health systems enhancements and outcome measures such as patient satisfaction, knowledge and quality of primary care, financial risk protection, and administrative efficiency.
The PHSD is expected to organize events and activities that will engage various sectors and stakeholders in the months to come.