Consumer Health – Key Terms and Concepts (Health 10)

Lesson 1: Consumer Health

  • Quote: "Every time you spend, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want" – Anna Lappe

  • We are all consumers and face a wide variety of attractive, well-advertised health products promoted by popular personalities with promises to improve health.

  • As health consumers, we:

    • acquire health information, purchase health products, and avail health services from diverse sources

    • deserve proper treatment and respect from sellers

  • Health information (World Health Assembly definition): a process of obtaining systematic knowledge and technology that can be used for the improvement of the health of individuals or populations; useful for health promotion, disease prevention, and health care management

  • Health information includes data and facts from media, professionals, and agencies; ideas heard from people, books, media, and other printed materials that influence health

  • GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA IN SELECTING AND EVALUATING HEALTH INFORMATION

    • It is our duty to evaluate reliability of sources and become educated consumers who select information, products, and services that are scientifically proven and legally approved

    • Guidelines and criteria in selection/evaluation:

    • 1.1. Reliability — Who is/are giving the information?

    • 2.2. Credibility — What is their reputation in the community and in the country?

    • 3.3. Professionalism — What is their educational background?

    • 4.4. Purpose — How is the information presented? Educational/science-based or advertisement/strategy?

    • 5.5. Motivation — Is it intended to improve health and well-being or for profit?

  • HEALTH PRODUCTS: substances, materials, or equipment for purchase and use in maintenance of health or treatment of disease; items consumed to improve well-being (e.g., medicines, clothes, etc.)

  • HEALTH SERVICES: health actions/procedures provided to help satisfy health needs; examples include medical consultation, medical treatment, hospital confinement, health care services

  • HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS in the Philippines vary from public, private, national, to barangay health providers

  • Health Professionals and their Field of Specialization (what they deal with):

    • NURSES: work in hospitals/outpatient facilities; administer medications, IVs, maintain records, communicate with doctors

    • DOCTORS: diagnose and treat; can be primary care physicians or specialists (emergency medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics, psychiatry, endocrinology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, cardiology, etc.)

    • DENTISTS: diagnose, prevent, and treat diseases of the oral cavity and related tissues

    • MEDICAL TECHNICIANS: analyze/test body fluids and tissues; ensure laboratory results are accurate and timely

    • PHARMACISTS: dispense medications; offer expertise on prescriptions; conduct health screenings, immunizations, advise on healthy lifestyle; oversee medications

    • PHYSICAL THERAPISTS: diagnose and treat individuals of all ages with health-related movement limitations; facilitate functional activities

    • NUTRITIONIST-DIETICIANS: licensed professionals who assess, diagnose, and treat nutritional problems; experts in human nutrition; alter patient’s nutrition as needed

  • HEALTH FACILITIES: places that provide health care; include hospitals, clinics, outpatient care centers, birthing centers, psychiatric care centers

    • When choosing a health facility, consider:

    • extThequalityoffacilitymustbeexcellentext{The quality of facility must be excellent}

    • extDistancefromhome/workmustbeaccessibleandconvenientext{Distance from home/work must be accessible and convenient}

    • extThehealthprovidermustbeaffiliatedandaccreditedext{The health provider must be affiliated and accredited}

  • HEALTH CARE PLANS AND FINANCING SYSTEMS

    • PhilHealth and private health insurance are among providers licensed by the Insurance Commission (IC)

    • Health cards can be sold by HMOs or given as a health benefit by employers; self-employed individuals may also avail for themselves and families for medical check-ups or hospital confinement

  • DOH TO REVISIT AND AMEND Magna Carta of Public Health Workers (Under Republic Act No. 73057305)

    • Under RA 73057305 (1992): public health workers are entitled to benefits including subsistence allowance, laundry allowance, longevity pay, and higher salary grade upon retirement, among others

    • Despite passage, successive governments have failed to fully provide all prescribed benefits; not all government agencies implement the law; monitoring of policy implementation has been weak

  • LESSON 2: QUACKERIES AND ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE MODALITIES

  • Everyone is a health consumer and potential target for fraudulent services and activities; armed with information/skills, you can protect yourself from health fraud (quackery)

  • QUACKERY: form of health fraud in the advertisement, promotion, or sale of products/services that have not been scientifically proven safe/effective

  • QUACK: individual with little/no professional qualifications to practice medicine; uses meaningless medical jargon; uses scare tactics and quick fixes

  • Characteristics of health quackery

    • 1.1. Ignorance — Consumers may not distinguish between proven and unproven health products/services; false yet powerful promises used by marketers

    • 2.2. Placebo effect — Mind influences how one feels; people feel better due to belief unless health problem is severe

    • 3.3. Self-limiting conditions — Some health problems resolve on their own; quackery may claim credit

    • 4.4. Sleight of hand / magic tricks — Pseudo-technologies like psychic surgery used as fakery

  • Types of Quackery

    • 1.1. It is progressive: Quacks claim latest advances in science

    • 2.2. It is a big business: Quacks can be very profitable

    • 3.3. It is for an incurable condition: Targets those with diagnosed incurable illnesses

    • 4.4. It multiplies fast: Targets hopeless cases offering cures and hope

  • Health Quackery

  • HARMFUL PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS of quackery

    • 1.1. Economic harm — Financial losses; can be catastrophic for families; quacks may seek to bleed customers dry

    • 2.2. Direct harm — Lack of scientific basis can cause death, injury, suffering; misdiagnosis or ineffective treatments may create conflict

    • 3.3. Psychological harm — Mental anguish from fake diagnoses and uncertain, unsafe treatments

    • 4.4. Societal harm — Misinformation wastes limited resources; mass misinformation can influence policymakers, jurists, and media influence

  • LESSON 3: COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE MODALITIES

  • Philippines’ traditional medicine remains prevalent, especially in rural areas; FDA advisory warns against procurement/consumption of many products (cosmetics, herbal products, slimming products, insect-control products) without proper authorization

  • HERBAL MEDICINE: DOH Traditional Health Program endorses ten medicinal plants for herbal medicine use

    • Medicinal plants can be used in salads, herbal teas, tinctures, and supplements

  • B. Nutrition Quackery: Promotion of food fads and other nutritional practices claiming all-natural benefits; belief in multiple plants in one product

  • C. Devices Quackery: Use of gadgets (dials, gauges, electrodes, magnets, blinkers) claimed to cure conditions

  • A. Medical Quackery: Cures, treatments, or remedies that are drugless or bloodless in nature

  • THE 10 PHILIPPINE MEDICINAL PLANTS and their functions

    • Acapulko — treatment of insect bites, itchiness, ringworms, infections, scabies, and eczemas

    • Ampalaya — supplement in treating diabetes, burns, coughs, and hemorrhoids

    • Bawang — supplement in reducing blood cholesterol; antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

    • Bayabas — antioxidant, anti-allergy, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic

    • Lagundi — treatment of cough, colds, and fever

    • Niyog-niyogan — elimination of intestinal parasites

    • Sambong — treatment of hypertension, kidney stones, rheumatism, cough, and colds

    • Tsaanggubat — treatment of skin allergies

    • Ulasimang-bato (Pansit-pansitan) — treating arthritis and gout

    • Yerba Buena — for insect bites, coughs, and colds

  • Other therapies still evident today

    • Acupuncture — pricking the skin or tissue with needles to alleviate pain and treat various physical, mental, and emotional conditions

    • Ventosa (cupping) — massage of soft tissues using kneading, tapping, stroking, and friction to relax muscles

    • Reflexology — applying pressure to specific points/areas believed to correspond to organs/systems; pressing them has health benefits

    • Naturopathy — disease treatment/prevention without drugs, via diet control and massage

  • CONSUMER WELFARE AND PROTECTION

  • The 1987 Philippine Constitution states: “The state shall protect consumers from trade malpractices and from substandard or hazardous substances.” – Article XVI, General Provisions, Section 9

  • CONSUMER LAW (Republic Act No. 73947394), known as the Consumer Act of the Philippines

    • Designed to prevent fraud/unfair practices from gaining advantage and to protect the weak

    • Focus on welfare, protection, and rights of Filipino consumers

  • The Eight Basic Consumer Rights

    • 1.1. Right to basic needs — guarantees survival, adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, sanitation; availability of basic/prime commodities at affordable prices and good quality

    • 2.2. Right to safety — protection from goods/services that are hazardous to health and life

    • 3.3. Right to information — protection against dishonest advertising or mislabeling; right to be given facts to make informed choices; compensation for misrepresentation and shoddy goods/services

    • 4.4. Right to choose — freedom to select among products at competitive prices with satisfactory quality

    • 5.5. Right to representation — right to express interests in government policy making/execution

    • 6.6. Right to redress — right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy, or unsatisfactory services

    • 7.7. Right to consumer education — right to acquire knowledge and skills to be informed consumers

    • 8.8. Right to a healthy environment — right to live/work in a non-threatening, non-dangerous environment that sustains dignity and well-being

  • CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

    • Departments: Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Local Governments

    • These agencies run education/information campaigns (seminars, lectures, print materials, radio/TV programs) focusing on consumer rights/responsibilities, product standards and safety, environmental concerns, etc., integrated into the secondary school curriculum

    • The Department of Education, in cooperation with other departments/agencies with consumer welfare functions, developed the curriculum

  • Summary connections

    • The material links health literacy, critical evaluation of information, protection against deceptive health claims, and practical consumer rights to ensure safe, effective, and affordable health care and products

    • Emphasizes evidence-based decision making, awareness of fraud, and rights as a foundation for healthier communities