Luzenne Jones BS-PSYC IV Psyc EL1 T 6:00-9:00 PM March 24, 2020

PRACTICAL EXAM
MIDTERM
Research Question: Is There an Influence of Traditional Filipino Herbal Remedies in How
Filipinos Respond to Symptoms of COVID-19?

I came up with this research question because I have observed from my own Mother
and my other Filipino relatives, particularly the older ones, that they immediately turn to herbal
remedies whenever they address any health problems they may be experiencing. They
frequently use herbal remedies such as liniment oil or leaves from Philippine plants to combat
common ailments. Examples of Filipino herbal remedies are Lagundi for cough and asthma;
tsaang gubat for abdominal pains; and yerba buena for fever and body aches. I researched the
cultural implication of this and found out that the use of medicinal plants has been the common
way of treating common ailments years before the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines.
Indigenous communities in the Philippines have been using plants as remedies for several
diseases ranging from common to more serious and fatal ones. The information and folk
knowledge regarding the medicinal and therapeutic uses of these indigenous plant materials
have been handed down from generation to generation through verbal communication.
Western medicine may prevail in the metropolitan areas, with its provincial capitals and
cities equipped with the diagnostic machineries essential for the commerce of mainstream
medicine. But for the majority of the rural poor, there are the chronic crippling economic
disabilities that make mainstream health care unaffordable, often accessed only as a debt-
inducing last resort. Grinding poverty and the accompanying low level of education among poor
Filipinos aggravate the low health literacy among them. The shortage of medical doctors and
other health professionals in rural areas, coupled with the lack of health infrastructure in the
countryside, intensify the impact of this low health literacy. Before seeking professional help,
Filipinos, especially older adults, tend to manage their illnesses by self-diagnosing, self-
monitoring of symptoms, ascertaining possible causes, determining the severity and threat to
functional capacity, and considering the financial and emotional burden to the family. This
causes great concern to most health care providers, since these Filipino older adults only seek
medical care when their illness is already very serious or in an advanced stage, leading to
missed opportunities for optimal treatment. It concerns me whether psychological factors such
as denying the severity of symptoms, denying the need for treatment, not following the
prescribed treatment plan, and not getting the recommended tests may affect how Filipinos
with COVID-19 respond to their symptoms. Not only psychological factors but also social and
environmental factors such as poverty may contribute as a barrier to necessary intervention in
controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in a timely fashion. The potential of receiving costly medical
bills could discourage Filipinos from seeking care even as the COVID-19 outbreak worsens in the
Philippines. The average cost for a person under investigation for COVID-19 is P90,000 pesos for
five days admission in the hospital. The initial symptoms of COVID-19 are cough, fever, and
tiredness which could be misinterpreted by Filipinos as minor ailments that are easily treated
with herbal remedies. Whether herbs could kill the corona virus remains a topic of heated
debate in the scientific community. The corona virus is difficult to kill because it does not live as
an independent organism, like bacteria. Once in the body, it injects alien code into its genes and
can duplicate rapidly, causing havoc. People who contract COVID-19 emit high amounts of virus
very early on in their infection, according to a new study from Germany, that helps to explain
the rapid and efficient way in which the virus has spread around the world. If there are unaware
Filipinos who continue to be influenced by the belief that herbal remedies are the cure to initial
COVID-19 symptoms, then this could be one of the reasons why cases of COVID-19 are still
rapidly increasing in the Philippines.
If I were given the opportunity to conduct this research, the research method that I will use
is pagtatanung-tanong (asking questions). I believe this is the most appropriate research
method because I want to engage with my participants in an unstructured and interactive way.
The inclusive criteria for my participants will range from older adult to elderly Filipinos of low
socioeconomic status living within a rural area of the Philippines. The goal of my research is to
know how these Filipinos would personally respond if they were ever to experience symptoms
of cough, fever, and tiredness characteristic of COVID-19. I will be careful in not using “leading
questions” and base the questions that I will ask on the participants’ prior responses instead.
The most appropriate location for the interview would be the house of the participant in order
for it to be convenient for them. Even though it would be safer to conduct the interview
through online, in order to promote social distancing, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not
advisable because I must take into consideration that the participants may not have proper
internet connection in the rural area or difficulty with the use of technology, especially with
older participants. I will make sure that I take the proper sanitary precautions when I visit the
house of the participants and wear a mask. If the participants do not have a mask, I will provide
them with one. The time of the interview will be afternoon, so that the participants will have
already had their lunch. It is important to also provide the participant with incentives to
compensate for the time and effort they had put in participating for the duration of the whole
interview. A sack or rice and canned goods would also be included in the incentives since there
are many Filipinos currently in short of food stock due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
in the Philippines. I will make sure to use the Cebuano language in the interview and address
the elders with “tita” or “tito” to show respect. Pakikiramdam (shared inner perception) is
especially useful in conducting research in the rural areas. As a researcher, I must possess the
essential ability of pakikiramdam (shared inner perception) and exhibit care and thoughtfulness
when interviewing my participants by being sensitive to their non-verbal cues. I must imagine
myself in the situation of my participants and feel how they would feel in their current
situation, especially during the corona virus crisis. It is important that I will first take the time to
understand their cultural ways and establish rapport so they would feel comfortable enough to
disclose their opinions, knowledge and experiences to me. There is a possibility that my
participants are traditionalists, so I must respect their perspective and expect that they would
disagree with the modern ways and stick to their established customs and beliefs. The research
participants are free to ask the me, the researcher, as many questions as they want, therefore
acting much like a ‘‘researcher’’ themselves. I would treat these questions with the same
respect and not avoid them. There may be instances in where the research participants actually
have an input in the research process itself in terms of time management, structure of the
questions, and interpretation without being aware of it and, that I believe, is the essence of the
pagtatanung-tanong (asking questions) research method.