March 31, 2022 — The Institute on Aging (IA) and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology (ICE) of the UP Manila National Institutes of Health are set to conduct a study dubbed Wellness Initiatives for Seniors and Elders (WISE), that will create a framework for use in developing health policies and programs for this sector.
Dr. Shelley Dela Vega, UPMWISE program leader and IA director, explained during the orientation that the three-year project seeks to have a better understanding of the situational needs of members 55 years and older, including those who have retired from work.
The UPMWISE is part of a UP system project under the Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Program being funded by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
UPWISE results at UP Diliman and UP Los Banos
Based on the partial results of the UPWISE at UP Diliman and UP Los Banos as presented by Dr. Dela Vega, a total of 301 participants completed the survey and the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) interview. Overall, the mean age of the participants was 64.8 with an almost equal number of participants from the working and retired population in both sites.
In terms of diagnosed health problems, 3 out of the top 10 conditions were vision-related followed by non-communicable diseases (NCDs); namely hypertension, dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis, and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. There were more participants in Diliman who were diagnosed to have sleep problems. In terms of health consultations, physicians were the most commonly consulted health professional for both sites, and very few consulted a geriatrician. There were also low vaccination rates for all vaccines in both campus sites; and among those who had immunizations, influenza vaccine was the most commonly received.
The CGA-derived questions on wellbeing revealed that a third of all the participants had reported poor to fair health and quality of life. Retired males from Diliman reported poorer quality of life compared to their other counterparts. Results from the FGDs mentioned work-related stress, financial concerns, and anxiety over illnesses and death as contributing factors. These findings represent a need for further programs to screen for and manage mental health issues in this population.
Most of the participants from both sites were physically active. The participants from Los Baños were slightly more physically active than those from Diliman. On desired skills and in preparation for retirement, culinary skill was the most sought after by participants, followed by handicrafts, tailoring or dressmaking, and ICT skills. On the qualities that would make the environment in UP more elder-friendly, the participants answered being near the market, near the hospital, and accessible to transportation.
Dr. Dela Vega mentioned the policy brief for a University for All Ages, which was also presented to the UP System, with the titles of the four publications derived from the UPWISE Program.
UPMWISE Overview
As UPMWISE program leader and Project 2 leader, Dr. Dela Vega provided an overview of the new UPMWISE program and background of Project 2, the Comprehensive Geriatric Health Assessment component with its objectives, collaborators, methodology, and the main data collection tool which is the CGA.
Dr. Mary Ann Ladia, ICE research faculty and Project 1 leader, gave an overview of the UPMWISE Projects 1 and 3 and a background of the Collaborations and Assessment of Health and Wellbeing component.
Ms. Angely Garcia, incoming IA research faculty and UPMWISE Project 3 leader, provided an overview of Project 3: Digitization of the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and the rationale for digitizing the CGA. She also described the innovative approach to be utilized by the project which is the human-centered design.
After the Q&A session, Vice Chancellor for Administration Dr. Arlene Samaniego stated that the UPMWISE program is very timely for two reasons: 1) the General Appropriation Act 2021 enjoins all government agencies to develop programs and activities for the senior members of the workforce, and 2) the harmonization of all processes and initiatives in UP Manila to come up with a Comprehensive Healthy University Framework including the health and wellness of the senior staff and elderly. She added that the recommendations and findings will definitely be used; and assured the research team of the all-out support of the administration, not only for the older groups but also for all age groups in UP Manila.
In her closing remarks, UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla noted that the UPMWISE program is in line with and a part of the University’s commitment to the UN Declaration of the Decade of Healthy Ageing. She highlighted that “the constituents who are literally golden in age and older are gems who devoted the strongest years of their lives to support the University’s cause”. She encouraged the active participation of the employees aged 50 years and above to the UPMWISE program as this will help the administration provide direction for the health programs and services needed by the aging workforce. She mentioned that the output of this program can serve as a model for other government agencies and even private institutions.
The Chancellor congratulated the IA and ICE for spearheading the UP Manila’s participation in the interdisciplinary and inter-campus research on aging and elderly. She hopes that the results of the study will lead to an alert, robust, and blissful elderly population. (Summarized from a report provided by the Institute of Aging.)
