Local health communication best practices highlighted in UST Media Leadership Lecture Series

​The Office of Public Affairs (OPA), in partnership with Unilab, held the 6th installment of the Media Leadership Lecture Series on Nov. 28, 2023, at the Dr. Robert Sy Grand Ballroom, Bl. Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P. Building. With the theme “Advancing Community Wellness through a Multidisciplinary Approach to Health Communication: A Philippine Perspective,” this lecture series gathered experts, practitioners, media personalities, and advocates to weave and share their insights on wellness and communication through a multi-sectoral approach.

Ruben Basa, operations director of Mount Grace Network of Hospitals and general manager of Fe del Mundo Medical Center (FDMMC) served as the keynote lecturer on “The Practice of Health Communication in the Philippines.”

A key challenge in health communication, shared Basa, was improving health literacy or the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information in the aspects of health care, disease prevention, and health promotion. An effective communication campaign through mass media, such as the Oplan Alis Disease, improved vaccination coverage in urban areas during the early ‘90s until 2012, when vaccine rates declined in the next four years. In the absence of consistent health communication campaigns, vaccine hesitancy rose until 2022, where Basa lamented that the Philippines became one of the countries with the highest number of “zero-dose children” or children with no vaccine doses at all.

Basa also stressed the importance of being ready to communicate change transparently to avoid building distrust. Science evolves, evidence changes, and health communicators must adapt as needed, particularly while dealing with an ongoing pandemic like COVID-19, which still has new strains spreading throughout communities. He added that maintaining public trust and having reliable messengers are vital.

A panel discussion moderated by veteran journalist Jing Castañeda, journalist, columnist and health advocate followed the lecture, with insights gathered from Basa; Prof. Consuelo G. Suarez, MD, PhD, FPARM, supervisor of Research Center for the Health Sciences; Kristine Bernadette Sasi, executive producer of MedTalk HealthTalk, CNN Philippines; Winston Creones “Dr. Kilimanguru” Tiwaquen, medical doctor and educational content creator. Their discussion focused on “Advancing Community Wellness through a Multidisciplinary Approach to Health Promotion.”