Title of the proposal: 

Preparedness and response capabilities of

senior citizens during public health emergencies in Dumaguete
City

Proponents and Contact Information 

Jeffrey Lloyd R. Titong  jeffreyrtitong@su.ph.com
Osel Sherwin Y. Melad oselymelad@su.edu.ph
Maria Theresa C. Belcina Jr.mariacbelcina@su.edu.ph 

Introduction

      The impact that the elderly population brings to our society can be greater than
what we expect. Pillemer and Finkelhor (1988) stated that our culture dictates upon us that
elderly people are of less priority or given less importance. In the Philippines the National
Statistics Office (2012) reports that about 4 million Filipinos are over 65 years of age. Senior
citizens account for 6.9 percent of the total Philippine population, and their share is expected
to rise to 7.8 percent in 2016. By 2040, their sector is projected to reach 19.6 million out of a
total of 141.7 million Filipinos (So Old, So Poor: Official Data Count Elderly among Poorest
Sectors, 2011). In Metro Dumaguete, based on the data provided by its respective Offices for
the Senior Citizen’s Affairs (OSCA) and the Federated Senior Citizen’s Association of the
Philippines (FSCAP), the total estimated population is 23,155 senior citizens.

This research study will focus on how the senior citizen community of Dumaguete
City is well prepared and what their response mechanisms are during or when a public health
emergency arises. It is noted that the elderly population is most vulnerable to the effects of a
public health emergency.   The elderly community as the foundation of our society today is
obviously the most vulnerable sector due to physiological effects of aging, being perceived as
frail, and often not engaged or immobilized during times of emergency. The population’s
perceived capability to respond in times of emergencies remains undocumented. The nature
of involvement of the elderly population is unclear and deemed non-essential by other groups
in a community. The extent in which the elderly population can provide support is not
documented to have facilitated the adequate response in any public health emergency. 

Rationale for conducting the study 

This research study attempts to:
A) Identify the perceived preparedness of the elderly population during public
health emergencies and provide data on areas that needs improvement.
B) Identify the response capabilities of the elderly population during public health
emergencies and provide data on how the respondents can support response
efforts.
C) Increase the public’s awareness on the degree of participation and involvement
of the elderly population in public health emergencies.
D) Provide data on the capability of senior citizens to respond in public health
emergencies for utilization in the emergency response program of the City.
The relevance or significance of the results

To the Participants
The result of this study may increase awareness of the respondents’ contribution to a
public health emergency. It will allow not only in considering  immediate action to save lives
of the elderly population, protect their  property and meet the basic needs of the vulnerable
sector. It will provide data on how the elderly population may capably respond and includes
the execution of emergency plans and actions to support short‐term recovery during the
health crisis such as the covid-19 pandemic and other related calamities.

To the Community
This study will identify the capability of the senior citizens to contribute to the
response of a public health emergency. The result of this study may contribute to the general
knowledge and identification of specific response mechanisms, preparedness ability and
coping measures in times of health emergencies.

To Health Care
The health care provision is not confined to basic function of providing care. It
involves education, planning, organizing and mobilizing all available resources in times of
public emergencies. One significant part of the health promotion is to promote the optimum
levels of well-being of all stakeholders, including the senior citizen. The results of this
research can be used for program planning in the preparedness and responses to health crisis.
Furthermore, it can identify the response capabilities of senior citizens during a public health
emergency/ natural disaster. 

Research questions
1) What is the demographic profile of the senior citizens in Dumaguete City, Negros
Oriental?
2) What is the level of preparedness ( in terms of ) among the senior citizens in
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental?
3) What are the response capabilities of the senior citizens in Dumaguete City,
Negros Oriental?

Null hypotheses

1) There is no significant relationship between the demographic profile of the

respondents and their level of preparedness in public health emergencies.
2) There is no significant relationship between the demographic profile of the
respondents and their response capabilities. 
3) There is no significant relationship between the level of preparedness and the
response capabilities of  senior citizens in Dumaguete

Methodology

 Research Design. This study will employ the descriptive correlational research design. This
study will describe the levels of preparedness and response capabilities of the respondents.
Correlative research as a type of non-experimental method will allow the researchers
to measure two variables, understand and assess the statistical relationship between them
(Polit & Beck, 2008). The respondents’ profile will be correlated to the two variables and
against each other for establishing any significant relationship. The researchers aim to
establish whether correlations exist between the variables and if there is a significant
difference between variables. 

Environment setting. The setting of the research study will be the city of Dumaguete City, the
capital of Negros Oriental. The area covers the 30 barangays which comprise the said city. 
Dumaguete, is a 3rd class component city with a population of 134,103 people, based on the
2020 census. It is bounded on the north by the town of Sibulan, on the south by the town of
Bacong and on the west by the town of Valencia.  Dumaguete is politically subdivided into
30 barangays, all classified as urban. In the study, the interview will be conducted in a venue
which will be comfortable and accessible for the interviewee.   The date and time the survey
will be administered will be decided mutually by the researcher and the respondent with
careful considerations to possible intrusion on time and space.  

Respondents. The selection of the respondents in this study is based on the following: 
1. must be 60 years old and above
2. must be registered in the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs of Dumaguete City
3. mentally stable and willing to participate in the study
4. understands and can articulate either the English or Visayan language

Instrument /Tool. An interview schedule will be developed, validated, and utilized in this

study. The draft of the questionnaire shall be evaluated for face validity by four independent
experts, and modifications will be made where appropriate, according to the comments and
feedback gathered. An internal validity test will also be undertaken using Cronbach-alpha.
After the validity tests, a pilot testing will be conducted. The interview schedule contains
three sections where the first is on the demographic profile, second on the level of
preparedness using identified items on preparedness answerable in a scale of 1-4 where 1 is
not prepared and 4 is well prepared. The third part of the questionnaire is the level of
capability response using identified items on capability response answerable in a scale of 1-4,
where 1 is not capable and 4 is very capable. 

Data gathering procedures/analysis. The sample of this study will be identified using
proportionate stratified sampling method to include all the barangays in Dumaguete City. The
number of respondents in each barangay will be selected randomly using the list of the
Federation of Senior Citizen’s Association of the Philippines (FSCAP) in Dumaguete City,
which is under the Office of the Senior Citizen’s Affairs (OSCA). Proportionate stratified
sampling involves selecting participants from each stratum in proportions that match the
general population. After the recruitment, data will be gathered through interview then
aggregated into Microsoft Excel file, exported into statistical package for social science
(SPSS) version 21 and analyzed. Descriptive statistics shall be undertaken using frequency
and percentage for qualitative variables and mean and standard deviations for continuous
variables. The distribution of various variables will be summarized in tables and figures. Chi-
square test will be used to investigate the differences in the demographic profile against the
levels of preparedness and response capability. The value of significance will be at 0.05
where < 0.05 is considered as statistically significant.

Ethical Considerations. The researchers will ensure no harm or risk, in whatever form, will
be inflicted on the respondents in the conduct of the study.  The respondents will be assured
that the information or data gathered will not in any manner be used against them and they
have the right to decide voluntarily whether or not to participate in the study or withdraw at
any time. An informed consent will ensure that all their rights are protected and the
researchers will see to it that all the respondents are afforded fair and equitable treatment
before, during, and after the conduct of the study. 

Appendices
Tool
Part 1 Demographic profile
Name (optional)
Age: 60-65
Occupation
Gender
Status
Living Arrangement
Educational Attainment

Part II Level of Preparedness

Indicators Well Somewhat Least Not
prepared prepared prepared prepared
Access to information ( printed or
media)
Access to mobility tools (walker,
wheelchair),
transportation/vehicles
Access to health care services
Access to emergency hotlines
Access to family support
Access to organizational support
( church, civic, informal)
Availability of finances
Access to financial support
Availability of emergency “go-
bag”
Availability and access to
evacuation facilities/shelter
Security of important documents
Mobility
Health status
Knowledge on first aid
Knowledge on Basic life support
Part III Capability Response
Indicators Very Somewhat Least Not
capable capable capable capable
to prepare needed emergency
supplies
to learn first aid
to learn basic life support
get involved in community
emergency preparedness training
to join an active community
support group
to provide technical support to
community members
to provide financial support to
community members
to provide mental &
psychological support to
community members
to provide services in certain
capacity in a volunteer status

B. Gantt Chart

August 2021 Drafting of proposal and draft editing

September 2021 UREC clearance and other

correspondence preparations

October- December 2021 Data gathering

December- January 2022 Data Analysis and writing

February 2022 Presentation of findings

C. Budget

Particulars Estimated Cost Remarks

Research assistant fee 20,000.oo

2 X 10,000
Statistician’s fee 15,000.oo

Editor’s fee 15,000.oo

UREC review fee 1,500.oo

Researcher’s honoraria 75,000.oo

3 X 25,000

snacks for respondents 50,000.oo

500 X 100

Office supplies & 30,000.oo

equipment (laptop)

TOTAL 206,500.oo