Philippines. Response refers to the appropriate reaction of
government, institutions, groups or individuals to the
undesirable impact in order to prevent, mitigate, ameliorate
or adapt to the changes in conditions.
In Figure 2, the public's response on the basis of
knowledge and understanding of childhood cancer created
the demand for health care. The ability to satisfy this
demand depends on the dismantling of barriers to access of
cancer-related services, and the ability to supply these
services in public hospitals. The government, institutions
and groups of individuals must react to this demand in order
to deliver the necessary services required in order to
achieve the desired outcomes (i.e. responsive service,
increase compliance to treatment, decrease in treatment
abandonment rate, best clinical outcomes) that will have
meaningful and significant impact (i.e. improved survival
rates, optimal quality of life) to childhood cancer victims.
The subsequent implication is community empowerment
that will result in the desired reactions of government and
institutions to the prevailing problem of childhood cancer in
the Philippines so that improvements in survival rates and
quality of life can be ultimately attained.
Finally, the inputs that are defined by the characteristics of
the health-care delivery system must be improved to attain
the desired results in childhood cancer care, such as 1) the
physical facilities and equipment; 2) availability and skills of
the multidisciplinary professional team; 3) utilization of
standardized treatment protocols; 4) presence and
objectives of childhood cancer policies, and; 5) provisions for
chemotherapy drugs and financial support structures.
Equally important as inputs are the following: 1) knowledge
of existing or potential barriers to the delivery of health-care
services, and; 2) characteristics of the population at risk
defined by their demography and epidemiology. In all of the
above, government involvement is critical for our current
results to be sustainable. This is now the direction that is
being taken in our efforts for global improvement of
childhood cancer care in the Philippines.
Dr Julius A Lecciones is a leading paediatric oncologist in the
Philippines. He was Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the
University of the Philippines after his training at the US National
Cancer Institute. He co-founded the Philippine Society of
Pediatric Oncology in 2000. He was the 1994 TOYM in
Medicine, and the 1996 TOYP of the World in Academic
Leadership and Accomplishments for his contributions to
paediatric oncology in the Philippines. In 2011, he was
conferred the Presidential Gawad CES Award as an outstanding
career executive in government. Currently, he is Executive
Director of the Philippine Children's Medical Center, the
country's premier paediatric tertiary-care facility.
REGIONAL INITIATIVES
144 CANCER CONTROL 2015
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