Access to Universal Health Care in the Philippines

The Universal Health Care Program is one of the cornerstones of the Philippine development directions. Its primary objective is to enhance, and update health reform programs by removing inequities in health outcomes. To assess the efficacy of the program, the study measures access to healthcare services of 371 Indigenous Peoples (IPs) belonging to three different ethnic groups. It used qualitative and quantitative approaches consisting of; interviews, focus group discussions and surveys. Overall, the study reveals that Indigenous Peoples occasionally accessed healthcare services; seldom accessed healthcare facilities and occasionally accessed services provided by healthcare personnel. The study thus recommends that the design of healthcare services be standardized and customized to include IP client’s (IP) health needs, level of education, health demands, geographic locations, cultural practices and socio-economic conditions

Ethnic group · Focus group · Health care · Indigenous · Primary health care · Qualitative research · Universal design · Global Maternal and Child Health · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Health Policy