Community Gerontologists - Philippines

A meeting was held with a group of elderly people from the slum areas of Manilla, where it became clear that the availability & affordability of health care was a big problem. Through interpersonal communication & community action, the HelpAge International member organisation COSE identified a need to implement a health care training programme & invited interested older people to be the students.

Ageing, Population, Education, Health

An ongoing problem for the elderly is accessible & affordable health care. Many of the ageing population expressed the desire to be able to "take more control of their health". Traditional healers, massage specialists & herbalists are often use by elderly community members & thus the new health workers took that experience with them in their new venture. The health care programme began with an initial 3 days training where skills were learned, permitting health care workers to perform basic health checks (measuring blood pressure & blood sugar levels) & take medical notes. Once trained, they set out in pairs to visit older people in their neighbourhood "to identify those in need of medical attention". An important aspect of this programme is the monthly ongoing training the new health care workers recieve, where they learn about "issues like exercise & healthy eating, so that they can pass this knowledge on to their clients". They act as support to the doctor in COSE's mobile clinic & are responsible for finding affordable medical resources for their clients who need X-rays, ECGs etc. This programme empowers the elderly & allows them to take control of their health.