Philippines students deliver bite prevention education to frontline health workers.

As part of their field practicum, Master of Public Health (MPH) students from the University of the Philippines, Manila launched a project which aims to reduce animal bite incidents in the Municipality of Pila, Laguna in the Philippines. A key component of this project was to hold a seminar on bite prevention among Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) in the municipality.

Being front line workers in community health, BHWs go house-to-house to help deliver health services provided by the local government. Equipping them with proper bite prevention knowledge is essential as they are always on the go – meaning that they are a high-risk group for bites from free-roaming (and sometimes even confined) animals in the community.  Furthermore, as the BHWs move from house to house, they are the ideal workforce to share key knowledge to prevent and eliminate rabies with those with whom they engage.

Ms. Eunice Mendoza, Community Education Officer of GARC, was invited to present at the seminar and gave an overview of what rabies is, and how it is transmitted. She also highlighted the importance of proper bite management and dog vaccination in efforts to eliminate rabies. Tips on how to prevent dog bites were also shared, as prevention is always better than treatment.

After a rise in the number of bite cases reported in the area, the MPH students focused no bite prevention awareness to try to facilitate a reduction in cases and to prevent any possible rabies cases after someone is exposed from a bite. Many of the MPH students were Rabies Educator Certificate (REC) graduates, and therefore had the required knowledge and expertise to educate others on effective bite prevention, rabies prevention and rabies elimination efforts.

A total of 18 BHWs from the different barangays of Pila attended the seminar.  Also present in the seminar were representatives from the Rural Health Unit of Pila and the Municipal Agriculture Office.

GARC shared soft copies of posters on bite prevention, bite management, and dog vaccination with the MPH students to facilitate continued community engagement and support the messaging being shared by the students and the BHWs.

You, too, can help raise rabies awareness! Complete the Rabies Educator Certificate, a free online course designed for anyone interested in learning about rabies and start sharing life-saving information. Register free to get started!

Article contributed by: Eunice Mendoza, Community Education Officer, GARC