Briefs and Reports

Understanding Primary Care in Rural Areas of the Philippines — Using Ethnographic Evidence for the Universal Health Care Law

The iPrime study was an ethnographic study done collaboratively by the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health and Keele University. It sought to gain insight into the practice of primary care in rural areas of the Philippines. 

This virtual poster "Understanding Primary Care in Rural Areas of the Philippines — Using Ethnographic Evidence for the Universal Health Care Law" was presented at the 6th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research last November 2020. The presentation sought to answer the following questions: How does the UHC law address the needs of PCPs in rural areas? What impact do the existing contexts have in implementing the law?

It also makes the case for the ethnographic approach as a potent but under-utilised tool that can help public health practitioners gain a deeper understanding of issues. Insights from ethnographic studies such as iPrime can help inform future health policymaking, public health administration, implementation of interventions.