The UPecon r4d team conducted its first field visit to Nueva Ecija on May 18, 2017.
During this visit, the team met with Dr. Josie Garcia, the assistant provincial health officer (PHO) to introduce the study, and to assess the province as a potential study site. Likewise, a meeting together with the research director of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Dr. Maria Exelcis Orden, was set to scout for local field coordinators candidates.
On May 23, 2017, the UPecon team, through the help of the PHO, introduced the study by distributing a primer to Municipal Health Officers and City Health Officers in one of their regular meetings in Cabanatuan. The team also took advantage of the opportunity to administer a short questionnaire to collect information about the available staff, medicines provided, and services offered in the various rural health units/ community health centers. The gathered information further affirmed the suitability of Nueva Ecija province as the study site.
As it is imperative that the RHU be involved in this project, the team requested that each involved RHU will at least have a point person to help administer the raffle intervention of the study. With this, the team met the RHU point persons on December 7, 2018 to discuss the raffle intervention, and train them with the tasks they are to do for the said intervention.
Inclusive social protection for chronic health problems 