March 31, 2023 — Known as the “silent killers,” Hepatitis B and C affect around 10% and 0.6% of Filipinos respectively. Systemic and cultural challenges limit hepatitis diagnosis, care, and treatment at the primary healthcare level despite the best efforts of government and civil society organizations.

The UP Manila National Institutes of Health held a forum to share, gather feedback, and validate the findings of the research project entitled “Strengthening the Integrated Care and Treatment of Hepatitis (StITCH) in the Philippines” on February 9, 2023 at Bayleaf Intramuros, Manila.

The StITCH Project is a four-year, six-phased, cross-country collaboration among the UPM-NIH Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam (HAIVN) and Harvard Medical School that aims to design a patient-centered primary care strengthening model for hepatitis in the Philippines. The same project is being conducted in Vietnam with the goal of replicability and generalizability across different countries, regions, and contexts of the primary care model. The global goal is to eradicate hepatitis by 2030.

“The project is focused on two key principles. First is building a strong primary healthcare system in the Philippines and second is ensuring that patients with viral hepatitis are getting high-quality evidence-based care where it’s most convenient for them,” stated Dr. David Duong, director of the HMS Program in Global Primary Care and Social Change.

Dr. Martin Louis Fernandez and Ms. Jhaki Mendoza, StITCH PH research co-leads, explained that the ideal journey for Hepatitis B and C with respect to achieving timely care is broadly categorized into three main stages: pre-awareness and testing linkage, initiation of care, and ongoing care and recovery. For each of these stages, the StITCH project aims to understand what is happening by looking at the enablers, barriers, perceptions, and impacts of hepatitis.

Dr. Bethany Holt, StITCH USA overall research lead, summarized the key take-aways during the forum. Awareness of hepatitis is low among the communities and healthcare professionals; and stigma is particularly prominent and multi-faceted in relation to employment-based policies. Screening should continue to be developed and integrated with the rest of the system for counseling, care, and treatment of Hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis patients should be provided affordable and accessible care. There is a need to nurture the capabilities of our frontline healthcare staff to improve care across the whole cascade.

For her part, UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla asserted that UP Manila—through its colleges, NIH, and PGH—remains committed to enriching health and providing a better understanding of the public sector approaches specifically the creation of a comprehensive community-based management of viral hepatitis so we can achieve elimination.

The event was attended by officials from the Department of Health (DOH), Yellow Warrior Society of the Philippines, Hepatology Society of the Philippines, UP Manila School of Health Sciences Tarlac, Gilead Sciences, HMS, HAIVN, and representatives from partner health facilities in Bataan, Bulacan, and Tarlac.

Charmaine A. Lingdas