How concerned are we, people of Filipino origin about health issues? Are health issues one of our priorities in the upcoming election here in Canada? Do we have questions related to health issues that we want to ask the candidates of the different parties?
Historically, the Filipino community has been deeply involved in health issues. A great number of the Filipino immigrants to Canada in the sixties, seventies and even the eighties were nurses, medical technologists and doctors. But personally as far as our own health is concerned, we did not seem to be that health-conscious. I did not go for a regular annual health check- up when I was in the Philippines. As far as I know, even now, people in the Philippines do not make strong demands that government improve health services. There are higher priorities like having enough rice, earning enough to make ends meet and first and foremost, lessen corruption in the government.
The cost of seeing a doctor in the Philippines is so prohibitive for a great number of people that often many would only go when they feel they are very sick. There is public health service but it is limited and medicine has always to be paid for. It is very common among the working class to resort to self-medication, using herbs and other parts of plants like leaves and roots.
Habits are hard to break. Even with the universal health care program here in Canada, I am reluctant to go to the doctor unless I feel very sick. I believe many Filipinos in our communities here are still like me. Of course there are the second, third and even fourth generation of Filipino origin who were born here, brought up and educated in a very health-conscious society. Health programs here go far beyond curing ailments; there are wellness program, losing weight clinics, diet centers sex enhancement medications fitness gyms and of course plastic surgery. There are fund-raising events for almost all kinds of ailments – cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s Lou Gehrig disease, lung diseases, heart and stroke, diabetes and many more I cannot recall just now.
About two weeks ago, the Canadian Ethnocultural Council in partnership with the Canadian Liver Foundation sponsored focus groups in the Greater Toronto area to gather information on health issues and ways of preventing the spread of hepatitis C. Four ethnocultural groups were included: Chinese, Egyptians, Filipinos and Vietnamese. A study conducted by the World Health Organization showed that these four groups are high-risk in contracting hepatitis C.
Two focus groups were organized in the Filipino community, one by this writer with the cooperation of the Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians and the other by Carol Banez with participants from members of the Philippine Heritage Band. Each group was made up of ten to twelve participants.
Before the start of the session, some would-be participants expressed some reluctance to take part. When it was made clear that anyone in the group could leave anytime during the session if he/she felt that the exchange of ideas was not of interest or if he/she felt uncomfortable about the topics being discussed, they all agreed to stay.
Surprisingly, once the discussion was started, everybody in the group wanted to contribute ideas and opinions. Health issues often discussed in the Filipino community were brought up.
The problem of polypharmacy was the first to be mentioned. Participants agree that doctors prescribe too many drugs. These medications interact with one another and produce negative side effects.
Other health problems often talked about are heart and stroke, diabetes, obesity, hearing impairments, loss of memory, Alzheimer’s, Cancer and difficulty in sleeping.
Someone also expressed the worries about taking herbal medications without fully understanding the side effects.
It was also mentioned in one of the sessions that aged parents in the communities are taken care of by their adult children. Filipinos do not often consider nursing homes for their parents.
The cost of medications not covered by OHIP and the long waiting time for treatment were also causes for concern. Diseases or ailments like colon cancer, liver problems, hepatitis, psychiatric disorders, HIV/AIDS and erectal dysfunction are not often talked about. This could be due to lack of enough information about these health issues or fear of letting others know if they have the ailment especially HIV/AIDS and psychiatric problems. There is a stigma attached to these diseases that might be a reason for people to shun anyone who has them.
The focus group participants do not posses much information about hepatitis C. In fact they agree that the term hepatitis is not often used. When a person has this yellowish tinge in the skin, the expression used is “May sakit sa atay.” (liver disease). It is often presumed that the person probably drinks too much alcoholic drinks. Several members of the group admitted that they did not know hepatitis C is contracted through direct blood contact. Some members however recalled about the Red Cross scandal, several years ago when some people got sick with hepatitis C through transfusion of tainted blood. It was also pointed out that hepatitis C may be transferred from one person to another through the needle, which drug addicts often use.
Television , Internet, family doctors, friends and relatives were cited as the sources of information on health issues. The group welcomes brochures, pamphlets and other printed materials that provide information on health issues. Informational gatherings like this session are highly appreciated and were considered a very effective way in learning about health issues.
The Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians as well as the Philippine Heritage Band have initiated and participated in seminars, workshops and health fairs to promote better understanding of health issues and give members information on community resources wherein they can access health services.
There are however some barriers in disseminating health information that both groups cited. The most difficult to overcome is apathy. There are people who seem not to be interested at all in learning more about health issues. Lack of time is often an excuse used. Both men and women often have jobs and sometimes some of them work long hours to meet the demands of the family especially if there are several children. This is why most organizations hold gatherings on weekends.
Among seniors, lack of transportation is often a problem so carpools are arranged and there are volunteers who come and provide rides to senior gatherings, where there are wellness programs, line dancing and Tai Chi for physical fitness.
Some members of the community who are isolated from the group are encouraged to attend by phoning them frequently. Activities like cooking demonstrations and showing some videos are used to motivate them to come.
The Filipino community had participated in both research projects of the Canadian Ethnocultural Council – the first on diabetes and the second one on hepatitis C. Filipinos were also found to be one of the high risk groups in contracting diabetes. There is strong evidence that consciousness of health issues is growing in the Filipino community. Other organizations also incorporate programs on health issues and wellness in their activities.