INTRODUCTION

The first year Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science batch 2027 were divided into
three community groups to be deployed in three different barangays in the nearest municipalities
to Vigan. This group consists of a total of 25 first year BSMLS students and are deployed at
Fuerte, Caoayan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines in compliance for the course Community and Public
Health.

The BSMLS students, in collaboration with the Barangay officials and health workers,
administered an educational seminar, each at their respective communities. This served as a
consummation of their requirement in their Community and Public Health Laboratory subject.

The Community and Public Health for Medical Laboratory Science deals with the study of the
history and foundations of community health, that includes human ecology, demography, and
epidemiology. This course emphasizes the promotion of community, public, and environmental
health. Whereas public health, as defined by Charles-Edward A. Winslow is "the science and art
of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through
organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community
infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organization of
medical and nursing service for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the
development of the social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a
standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health."

Barangay Fuerte, the first out of the three communities, conducted their event on June 24, 2023
entitled: “Heart 2 Heart Talk: Pilipinong Med-Alerto” Given that the highest number of disease
present in Fuerte is Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), with 8.87% of the population, the first
year medical laboratory scientist students spearheaded a three-part educational seminar
(Hypertension; Smoking; Alcoholism) and vital sign-checking workshop in the course of the
half-day event. These efforts are founded by

the results of the data analyses of a two-week assessment for the community’s appropriate needs,
preceded by a month-long data collection through written surveys.

This program, primarily aimed to bridge health literacy— the degree to which individuals have
the ability to find, understand, and use information and services health-related decisions and
actions for themselves and others, especially on the prevalent disease of Hypertension
(Hypertension (high blood pressure) is when the pressure in your blood vessels is too high
(140/90 mmHg or higher,). It is common but can be serious if not treated, (WHO, 2016)
Moreover, this event hones the right of any human with access to preventive health care and the
right to benefit from medical treatment under the conditions established by national laws and
practices healthcare as the European Convention on Human Rights states.

Furthermore, when it comes to building a healthy community, the importance of health education
cannot be overlooked. Community health workers collaborate with all stakeholders in a
community - from its citizens to its government, education and medical officials - to improve
health and wellness and ensure equal access to healthcare. (Gagnon, 2022)

These programs establish knowledge among the health care students as much as the community
citizens as they are brought upon to work with competence, mental and physical fortitude,
patience, and unity. They exercise organizational skills to establish expectations, create goals,
delegate volunteers; communication skills (both verbal and non-verbal) to convey messages to
people in different walks of life; and intrapersonal skills to present one’s cause in a believable
and meaningful manner.