REMB-1 First Ever Accreditation Training

The Regional Ethics Monitoring Board – Region 1 (REMB-1) together with the Committee on Standards and Accreditation (CSA), in partnership with the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board, conducted for the first time ever a two-day Accreditation Training and Workshop on How to Accredit Research Ethics Committees on October 23-24, 2018, at the Board Room, Main Building of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, City of Batac, Ilocos Norte. The activity was primarily aimed at relating the roles and functions of REMB with the PHREB mandate and to rationalize the accreditation process according to the PHREB policies, accreditation standards and classification of RECs. 

Dr. Marita Reyes of the National Ethics Committee (NEC), served as

As a way of helping our researchers on how to accurately and appropriately analyse their research findings, the R1HRDC Capacity Building Committee spearheaded the conduct of DATA ANALYSIS Training and Workshop on September 26-28, 2018 at Hotel Veniz, Baguio City, with the aide of the very able lecturer Ophelia Mendoza, DrPH, adjunct professor from the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of the Philippines, Manila.

The 3-day training evolved on the following topics:

(1) understanding the basic concepts and principles in the application of statistical tools for data analysis particularly in: computing and interpreting health indicators; describing data by means of constructing tables and graphs and applying measures of central tendency, dispersion and location; making statistical inference through estimation and hypothesis testing; and investigating relationships between variables; and

(2) Identify the most appropriate statistical tools needed for the analysis of the data and meet the objectives of the research proposals they are developing.

Earlier this year, during the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS)-Capacity Building Committee (CBC) meeting, one of the identified initiatives that the committee should undertake is the development of standard training materials. Thus, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) in cooperation with Symmetrix Research Consultancy Co., through its project leader Dr. Ophelia Mendoza, conducted a regional consultative meeting in developing standardized training modules for the Basic Research Methods (BRM) course last September 4-5, 2018 at the Golden Prince Hotel, Cebu City.

The consultative meeting was attended by the chairs/members of the Capacity Building Committee (CBC) and Research Management Committee (RMC) with the consortium coordinator/project staff of all the Regional Health Research and Development Consortium (RHRDC) in the country. The objectives of the regional consultation were: (1)to share experiences of RHRDCs in the conduct of the BRM course; (2)to elicit suggestions from the RHRDCs regarding various aspects of the standardized modules

Every year, the health research community unites and exchange ideas to improve the health status in our country. This year, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) in association with Cordillera Regional Health Research and Development Consortium organized the celebration of the 12^th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week held on August 6-9, 2018 at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center, Baguio City with the theme “Research and Innovation for Equity in Health”.

The weeklong celebration evolved on talks and discussions about ways on how to address current and pressing health issues and concerns. It is also during this time that regional consortia showcase their funded research papers through a research competition. Criteria for judging includes, but not limited to the importance of the project, innovativeness, addresses real health and health related problem, and has the potential to be converted into policy, product and service. With that, the Region 1 HRDC team had an excellent performance in this recently concluded event.

• Holden Kirby M. Valdez, RN, MPH, PhD from Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation (VMUF), San Carlos City Pangasinan, bagged the First Place Award – Poster Exhibit Contest – Professional Category for his paper entitled Anti-Thrombophenic Activity of Formulated Papaya (Carica Papaya) and Guava (Psidium Guajava) Capsule on

Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) in association with Cordillera Regional Health Research and Development Consortium organized the celebration of the 12^th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week held on August 6-9, 2018 at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center, Baguio City. This year’s theme “Research and Innovation for Equity in Health” aimed at improving the health status, productivity, and quality of life of Filipinos. This is by linked the whole health research community of the country who are committed to develop ways to answer the growing health needs of our people in line with the Philippine health research agenda (NUHRA 2017-2022). 

Satellite Events, August 6-7, 2018 – Satellite events such as meetings, networking, workshops, fora, discussions, consultations, updates on the latest news, developments and policies of the core committees of the PNHRS was attended by the primary stakeholders of health research such as medical practitioners, academe staffs, students, indigenous peoples, policy makers and other groups. The topics tackled were: Updates on Ethics in Research, Understanding the Data Privacy Act in the Context of Health Research, and Designing Effective Communication Campaigns among other. There was a welcome dinner on August 7 whereby VIPs and guests delivered their messages/ testimonies. There were also