By Mary Clarince David/PTV Online Correspondent
Los Baños, LAGUNA — The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) in partnership with the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) formally launched the website Aruga sa Batang may Cancer (ABC) Initiative on March 1 at the UPOU Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna during the celebration of UPOU’s 24th founding anniversary.
The ABC initiative, a web-based pediatric palliative care service will enable patients, their caregivers and other healthcare providers to access information, services and experts related to palliative care through theses web-based features: (1) Learning Management Systems; (2) Telemedicine, and (3) Pediatric Cancer Registry. This 20-month pilot project for pediatric palliative care is seen to be a framework that can be used with other diseases of interest and other health services in the country in the future.
In addition, primary caregiver and health professionals can also take online training courses on palliative care in the UPOU-developed learning management system. Meanwhile, the Pediatric Cancer Registry feature of the system allows users to generate reports on the national statistics for pediatric cancer incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality, which could be used for cancer control, research, program planning, and patient care improvement.
According to Dr. Melinda dP. Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor, the website “is accessible to all who need information. Online consultation that can even reach the remote area of the country.”
Moreover, Dr. Rumalie A. Corvera, Executive Director of the Ruth Foundation for Palliative and Hospice Care expressed her gratitude in this development, emphasizing that “We are truly on the road. We see the APC initiative unseen multiply compassion through the webs. We aspire to transform, we engage to activities that transform the form of suffering.”
The arugaproject.com was funded by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and supported by the Department of Health (DOH), Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH), Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital (CDUH), Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), The Ruth Foundation for Palliative and Hospice Care, and Kythe Foundation, Inc.
