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EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING IN THE PHILIPPINES

PRE-SPANISH ERA – no records

SPANISH REGIME
1. 1577 – Bro. Juan Clemente started public health services through a dispensary in Intramuros
-creation of position of district, provincial, and national health officers

AMERICAN REGIME
1. 1901 – Act No. 157 of the Philippine Commission created the Board of Health of the Philippine Board
of Health for Manila
-Act 309 created the provincial and municipal Boards of Health

2. 1905 – Act No. 1407 (Reorganization Act) abolished the Board of Health which was replaced by the
Bureau of Health under the Department of Interior

3. 1906 – the District Health Offices headed by District Health Officers had jurisdiction over health
districts, hence the abolition of the Board of Health; creation of the Bureau of Health

4. 1912 – The Philippine General Hospital, under the Bureau of Health, sent 4 nurses to Cebu to take
care of mothers and babies

-St. Paul’s Hospital School of Nursing in Intramuros assigned 2 nurses to perform home
visiting in Manila and gave nursing care to outpatient mothers and newborn at PGH
5. 1915 – The Reorganization Act 2462 created the Office of General Inspection which organized the
Office of District Nursing headed by a lady physician, who was also a nurse, Dr. Rosario Pastor. The
office was created due to the increasing demands of nurses to work outside the hospital, in the homes,
and the need for direction, supervision and guidance of public health nurses.
6. 1916 – 1918 – Ms. Perlita Clark took charge of the public health nursing work. Her staff was
composed of 1 American nurse supervisor, 1 American dietitian, 36 Filipino nurses working in the
provinces and 1 nurse and 1 dietitian assigned in two sanitary divisions
7. 1918 – office of Ms. Clark was abolished due to lack of funds
8. 1919 – the first Filipino Nurse Supervisor under the Bureau of Health, Ms. Carmen del Rosario, was
appointed with a staff of 84 PHNs, assigned in 5 health stations
9. 1923 – ninety public health nurses were assigned in the different provinces

JAPANESE REGIME

1. 1941 – PHN in Manila were assigned to devastated areas to attend to the sick and wounded civilians
caused by bombing
-many public health nurses joined the guerillas or went to hide in the mountain
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EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING IN THE PHILIPPINES

during the World War II

2. February 1946 - Bureau of Health showed the increased number of public health nurses as compared
to records of pre-war

-in the same year, Mrs. Genara de Guzman, technical assistant in nursing of
Ministry of Health and concurrent president of The Filipino Nurses Association
recommended the creation of a nursing office in the Ministry of Health
ERA OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
1) 1947 – reorganization of government offices under EO No. 94

2) 1954 – RA 1082 (Rural Health Unit Act) was passed, provided for the employment of health personnel,
including nurses, who would man the RHUs and help raise the health conditions of rural populations

3) 1975 – Formulation of the National Health Plan and the Restructured Health Care Delivery System

4) 1986 - the Ministry of Health became Department of Health again

5) 1990 – 1992 – The Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160) was passed and implemented which resulted
to “devolution”

6) 1996 – Primary Health Care as a strategy to attain “Health for all by the year 2000” was in focused

7) Jan. 1999 – Department Order No. 29 designated Mrs. Nelia F. Hizon, Nurse VI, as Nursing Adviser.
Matters affecting nurses and nursing are referred to her.

8) May 24, 1999 – EO No. 102 was signed by then Pres. Joseph Estrada redirecting the functions and
operations of the DOH. Based on this EO, most of the nursing positions at the Central Office were either
transferred or devolved to other offices and services

9) 1999 – 2004 – the Health Sector Reform Agenda (HSRA) was developed to describe major strategies,
organizational and policy changes, and public investments to improve how health care delivery is delivered,
regulated and financed

10) 2005 – a plan to rationalize or streamline the bureaucracy which includes the DOH was developed; DOH
launched “FOURmula One for Health”