RAPID AREA ASSESSMENT (RAA)

Immersion Plan

Dengue Likawan: A Community Project in

Preventing and Decreasing Dengue in Sitio
Carolina

I. RATIONALE

Dengue is a virus spread through mosquito bites. It is also commonly found in

the tropical or subtropical region of the world. (CDC.gov, 2015) The disease is one
of the leading cause of death since there is no specific treatment for dengue/severe
dengue. However, early detection of disease progression associated with severe
dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to
below 1%. (WHO, 2019).

In the Philippines, which is a tropical country, dengue is a problem that cannot

be stopped, yet can be prevented. Last year, DOH declared a national dengue
epidemic due to the contious rise of dengue cases in the country, with western
Visayas which had the highest number of cases, with 23,330 for the first 7 months of
the year.

Department of Health (DOH) also proposed the 4S strategy, which they said is
the most effective way to prevent dengue. The strategy consists of the following: (1)
search and destroy mosquito breeding places; (2) self-protective measures like
wearing long sleeves and use of insect repellent; (3) seek early consultation on the
first signs and symptoms of the disease and; (4) say yes to fogging if there is an
impending outbreak. (Duque, 2019)

Dengue seems to often overlooked by people and the government as a threat,

thus, most of the people only give attention to it when it gets worse. The World
Health Organization (WHO) described dengue as a “neglected” tropical disease, due to
the lack of coordination efforts, research, and political will. (Li, 2015).
Runge-Ranzinger (2016), emphasizes on this matter stating that "Most countries do
not have comprehensive, detailed contingency plans for dengue outbreaks. Countries
tend to rely on intensified vector control as their outbreak response, with minimal
focus on integrated management of clinical care, epidemiological, laboratory and
vector surveillance, and risk communication."

Contrary to the belief of most Filipinos, that dengue is only seasonal, dengue
occurs nationally and year-round in the Philippines. Only that peak transmission
occurs during the rainy season, May through November. (IAMAT,2019)

La Carlota city is one of the contributors to the enormous number of dengue

cases is western Visayas. According to the City Health Office, there are around 149
cases in 2016, 171 cases in 2017, 313 cases in 2018 and around 85 cases in the first
half of 2019. Specifically, in there is a place wherein the number of dengue cases are
high, and that is in Sona Libre, Sitio Carolina. With these information in hand, there is
a need to take action in alleviating the problem.

II. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the numbers of dengue cases in Sitio Carolina from 2016 to
2019?
2. What is the main reason of dengue outbreak in the area?
3. What are the opinions of the residents on the rising cases of dengue in
their community?
 4. What are the methods of the residents in Sona Libre, La Carlota City in
preventing dengue cases?
5. Are the residents of Sona Libre ready for future dengue outbreaks?

III. SUMMARY OF FRAMEWORK/METHODOLOGIES

The Rapid Area Assessment (RAA) requires a mixed-method approach

which is composed of quantitative and qualitative methods. As O'Cathain,
Murphy, & Nicholl (2007) states, health service researches can be developed
further by using mixed methods research in a variety of health related contexts.
Also, integration of different types of data can generate insights into a research
question, resulting in enriched understanding of complex health research
problems. (Tariq, 2013) The data gathered using the said method can provide
us a reliable basis in implementing our community project.

a. Data Gathering Tools/Techniques

For the quantitative part, a survey questionnaire written in Hiligaynon

will be distributed to the participants. The participants are chosen through
stratified sampling, where target population's elements are divided into distinct
groups or strata where within each stratum the elements are similar to each
other with respect to select characteristics of importance to the survey.
(Parsons,2017) Here we divide the whole population of Sona Libre by each
households as the stratum, there are approximately 572 number of residents
which then equates to around 143 households. We will get the mothers or the
head of each households to answer it.

For the qualitative part, we will conduct a semi-structured interview on

the mothers or heads of households that were struck with dengue. The
participants are chosen through purposive sampling, and will be identified
through the help of one of our classmate who live in the area. Pilot interviews
will also be conducted to test the usability of the instrument. To get a better
 response, interview questions will be translated into Hiligaynon. If the instruments
are found useful, participants will be interviewed individually.

For the desk research, data will be gathered through the following: City
Planning Development Office (CPDO), City Environment & Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) and the City Health Office and Baranggay Health Centre.

b. Research Framework, Timeline, and Budget

Personnel
Deliverables Start End Budget
Involved
Drafting of immersion plan 27-Dec - - -
Instrumentation:

- Writing the survey questionnaire & 4-Jan 6-Jan - -

interview schedule

Preliminary immersion to the

community 11-Jan 12-Jan Ms. Jungco P300

Delos Santos
Mapisa
Community immersion
Chavez
18-Jan 19-Jan P300
Cordova
Data Gathering Phase 1 (Survey)
Magan
Arsenal
Cervales
Data gathering Phase 2
25-Jan 26-Jan Maguad P200
(Structured Interviews)
Estoche
Delos Santos
Transcribing, encoding, & data Cervales
3-Feb 7-Feb P200
analysis Estoche
Chavez