Family and Community Medicine

A Case Analysis on Ang kwento ni Rosario

Health cannot be contained in a box; it is multifaceted at is affected by boundless
factors. The interplay of genetic predisposition and proper diet on a small scale to
socioeconomic status and health policies implemented in a community on a larger scale,
all exert an influence on overall health. This inter-linkage led to Rosario’s death.
Rosario’s family is impoverished. Their daily income was not enough to support the
family. They extremely lacked financial security to afford food needed for proper
nutrition and other basic needs such as formula milk and medicines. Poverty also
hindered the family from acquiring a decent shelter. They were deprived of clean and
potable water which made their children easy targets of disease.
The second factor is the lack of proper education. The failure of Rosario’s parents to
learn proper ways to care for their children brought about beliefs and misconceptions
that did not promote health. Because Lucy did not know the importance of vaccines,
sterilizing feeding bottles and the dangers of parasitic worms, Rosario and her siblings
were malnourished and had a weak immune system, which increased their susceptibility
to becoming ill.
The last factor is the incompetent health care system. The healthcare workers
encountered by the family lacked compassion and were exploitative. The physician who
forbade Lucy to breastfeed had a motive for personal profit, the local health center
lacked medical supplies and assistance to better help the family and the private hospital
did not have programs that would have catered to indigent patients like Rosario, asking
them for a down payment during an emergency situation and even requiring them to
pay for consumable cottons, alcohol etc.
Rosario at her age and current situation was the sickliest in her family. It was just a
matter of time before she got sick and when she did, proper health access was not
available, stripping her of the right to be checked and treated fairly.