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WHO Scientist advocates community involvement in health research

WHO Scientist Dr. Bernadette Ramirez gave emphasis on the importance of participatory research in health during her keynote speech at the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development 36^th Anniversary last March 16, 2018 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

According to Dr. Ramirez, one of the objectives of participatory research in health studies is capacity building. “We actually have one goal which is capacity building for research. Capacity building means strengthening our ties with individuals and communities through involvement when it comes to health research and innovation.”

Dr. Ramirez defined community involvement as a process of engaging with communities to form a dialogue and/or collaboration at the grass roots level. She explained that in health research, including people in the process means providing what the people actually needs instead of delivering research results and research products aimlessly.

Participatory research sees communities as co-producer of knowledge and action. She added that the benefits of including individuals and communities in the dialogue of health research and innovation does not only encourage them to take action and responsibility for their own health but also fosters change in people.

She stated that the problem in the current health research practices is the need of the communities, “Ang mentality kasi natin ay one-size fits all; we forget that in health research, we are actually dealing with people. We need transformative change. We don’t want to be stuck in one size fits all because people come in different shapes and sizes.”

Dr. Ramirez explained that we should move forward from this practice and start banking on personalized healthcare that is more understanding of what is important to the people and community. The on-going evolution and demand for quality healthcare necessitate a parallel need for professional development with guided principle that is rooted in the needs of the people.

She urges everyone to take part in creating and providing a better healthcare to millions of Filipinos. Dr. Ramirez said, “Health research is multi-trans disciplinary; we need to combine our expertise. We have to understand our problems together. Healthcare is a complex problem and a complex problem requires a complete set of system to address that problem.”

In the end, she reiterated and reminded everyone that research on social innovation in health accompanied by community involvement is key in developing better healthcare system and programs.

Source: http://pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6352-dr-bernadette-ramirez-advocates-community-involvement-in-health-research

Call for Applications: JSPS International Fellowships for Research in Japan

JSPS International Fellowships for Research in Japan
Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan
Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan
FY 2018 (2018-2019) Application Guideline

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) carries out programs that provide overseas researchers who have an excellent record of research achievements with an opportunity to conduct collaborative research, discussions, and opinion exchanges with researchers in Japan. These programs are intended to help advance the overseas researchers' research activities while promoting science and internationalization in Japan.

FIELDS OF RESEARCH

All fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are included under this program.

NOTICE

(1) JSPS Electronic Application System
Host researchers are required to use the JSPS Electronic Application System when applying for fellowships.

Please refer to JSPS’s website for more details on JSPS Electronic Application System.
（http://www-shinsei.jsps.go.jp/topkokusai/top_kokusai.html）
If you have already obtained the applicant ID of international exchange projects, you do not need to ask your affiliated institution to issue the new ID and password.

(2) Application periods (for host institution)
Applications must be submitted to JSPS by a host researcher in Japan via the head of his/her university or institution. Overseas researchers wishing to participate in the program are advised to establish contact with a
Japanese or foreign-resident researcher in their field and to ask him/her to submit an application. They should make this contact well in advance of the host institution’s application deadline (depending on the institution, it may have its own deadline more than one month before the application deadline set by JSPS).

For more information, visit www.jsps.go.jp

Communication experts discuss best practices in communicating health research

A group of communication experts gathered to discuss their experiences, best practices, and effective audience engagement during Engaged: Communicating Health Research in Everyday Language session held last 16 March at the Philippine International Convention Center.

With the speakers of the session covering various fields of communication, 35 participants from the research utilization committees from regional health research and development consortia learned how to effectively communicate health research and improve audience engagement through tips and use of simpler language and laymanized terms.

Dr. Cecilia Acuin, Senior Scientist of the International Rice Research Institute and chair of the Research Utilization Committee of the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) opened the session through her presentation titled Trust in Science: The Role of Communication. She emphasized the duty of health research communicators to develop and maintain trust with their audience by addressing misconceptions and supporting statements with facts.

James Mendoza, Chief Executive Officer of Maroon Studios, discussed website content management and highlighted the importance of security and design of websites to users. He also explained the need to understand and define the users to help shape user-friendly websites.

Two speakers tackled the topic on how to manage social media accounts effective, first was Ron Villagonzalo, a co-founder of the Philippine Bloggers network. Villagonzalo discussed the inner workings of the promotions system of Google and Facebook, and gave an explainer on the use analytics to properly develop material tailored to your topic and audience.

Rosario Juan, CEO of Commune, took the second part of the topic, going through the importance of creating a voice, brand, and style for social media pages and explaining how current pop culture trends could be harnessed to create engaging but meaningful posts.

Rounding of the roster of speakers for the session was University of the Philippines Los Banos, College of Development Communication Dean, Dr. Ma. Theresa Velasco, with her presentation on the Do’s and Don’ts in developing and implementing an effective communication plan. Dr. Velasco shed more light on creating communication concepts that will not only engage but also educate social media users. The establishing of the vision, mission, and goals for research utilization committees can set the working standards and policies for effectively communicating and disseminating health research.

With the aim to develop and strengthen the skills and abilities of the regional research utilization committees, Engaged: Communicating Health Research in Everyday Language is a parallel session held during the 36th Anniversary of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development with the theme Research on Social Innovations in Health.

Source: http://pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6347-communication-experts-discuss-best-practices-in-communicating-health-research

Written by Reuben Andrew R. Razal

Call for Nominations: ASPIRE Prize 2018

The APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (“ASPIRE”) is an annual award which recognizes young scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to both excellence in scientific research, as evidenced by scholarly publication and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies.

The ASPIRE Prize supports APEC’s mission to:

Strengthen international science and technology networks;
Enhance economic growth, trade and investment opportunities in harmony with sustainable development, through policies, innovative R&D and technologies, and knowledge sharing;
Improve linkages and efficiency between research and innovation.

ASPIRE 2018: Smart Technologies for Healthy Societies

Each year, the chairing APEC member economy provides a theme for the ASPIRE Prize. In 2018, Papua New Guinea selects "Smart Technologies for Healthy Societies” as the ASPIRE theme. This theme focuses on how scientists are capitalizing on smart technologies and digital platforms to provide better health care access and services across the APEC region.

Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to excellence in scientific research and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies in subjects such as: biomedical technology, healthcare supply chains, pharmaceutical technology, point-of-care systems, wearable technology, self-help devices, artificial gene fusion, medical Informatics, cell surface display techniques, robotics, nanomedicine, 3D printing and continuous manufacturing, blockchain technology and other relevant fields.

ELIGIBILITY

Any citizen of an APEC member economy is eligible to be nominated for the ASPIRE Prize. He/she must be living at the time of his/her nomination and be under the age of 40 as of 31 December of that year (i.e., all 2018 nominees must be under the age of 40 as of 31 December 2018).

SELECTION PROCESS

Each APEC member economy, through its representative in the APEC Policy Partnership for Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI), is invited to nominate one young scientist under the age of 40 to be considered for the ASPIRE Prize.

Individually qualified applicants are encouraged to complete the “Local Nomination Form” and send it to PPSTI Program Director Ms. Zhongzhen LIU (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by 13 April 2018 so it may be directed toward local economy reviewers.

Once nominations are received, PPSTI members rank the nominees through a selection ballot to determine the winner. PPSTI members are asked to judge the nominees based on how well they have demonstrated:

Excellence in scientific research, as evidenced through scholarly publication;
Commitment to cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies;
Contribution to the 2018 ASPIRE theme of “Smart Technologies for Healthy Societies.”
The winner will be recognized at an award ceremony during the 12th APEC PPSTI Meeting in Papua New Guinea scheduled for August 2018.

ASPIRE PRIZE SPONSORS

Wiley and Elsevier, two of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly scientific knowledge, have committed to funding USD25,000 in prize money.

For more information, please visit www.apec.org

March is Rabies Awareness Month

Rabies remains to be a public health problem in the country, accounting for 200 to 300 deaths each year. With the declaration of March as Rabies Awareness Month (Republic Act 1948), the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development and various health institutions take part in raising people’s consciousness to the dangers of infectious viral diseases like rabies.

The Council is one of the many institutions promoting innovative ideas and research-based solutions to combat public health problems. PCHRD extends funding for researches on public health which are aligned with National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) and National Harmonized Research and Development Agenda (NHRDA)

NUHRA summarizes the health research and development directions and priorities of the country for a six-year period. These research priority areas are the following: Diagnostics, Tuklas lunas (Drug discovery and development), Functional foods, Hospital equipment and biomedical devices, Information and communication technology for health, Dengue and other arboviruses, Disaster risk reduction, Climate change adaptation, and Omic technologies for health.

Some of the rabies related projects and researches that were supported by the Council are “Canine Rabies Vaccination Outcome Monitoring and its Implication to Rabies Control and Prevention Program in Pampanga,” “Comparison of the Different Brain Collection Techniques and Evaluation of the Spinal Cord and Brain Tissues as Specimen for Rabies Diagnosis,” and “Bioluminescent Enzyme Immunoassay for the Rapid and Specific Detection of Rabies Virus.”

Most reported cases of rabies are caused by domestic pets such as cats, dogs, and rabbits. The virus usually comes from their saliva but can also be transmitted into humans through biting and scratching. While there is a small amount of people who have survived rabies, it remains as a fatal disease.

As a reminder, PCHRD encourages individuals to practice responsible pet ownership by having your pets vaccinated by your veterinarian, keeping them safe whether inside or outside the house and reporting stray animals to local government authorities.

Source: http://pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6345-march-is-rabies-awareness-month-2018