Addressing Health Concerns Interrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) levels down to a more manageable state in the Philippines, after having logged 3,678,968 confirmed cases and 59,324 deaths from January 3, 2022, to April 2, 2022,1 the medical community exerts greater efforts toward addressing the health concerns hindered by the demands of the global scourge. With the 7-day moving average of 378 new cases as of March 20, 2022, a weekly positivity rate of 2.0% out of the 125,107 samples tested as reported on March 27, 2022, and the COVID-19 hospital bed utilization rate of 16%,2 the Philippine Health System has steadily redirected its focus on addressing the equally important non-COVID diseases. Mental health issues have particularly surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant harmful psychological consequence especially among the frontline healthcare workers have been dubbed as the “silent pandemic.”3 The excessive work demands along with the greater personal risk of exposure and possibly exposing family members were real mental stressors to healthcare workers during the height of the pandemic. This publication issue describes the observations made among the resident physicians from the Departments of Internal Medicine (IM) and Pediatrics of one of the largest tertiary government hospitals in the country. The first paper among the IM medical residents revealed that a good 40 percent of the physicians were at-risk for physician burnout with four percent assessed as having physician burnout, defined as a work-related syndrome causing “emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment.”4 The other paper is an interventional research on the effectiveness of a physician resilience and wellness program (”I-CARE” program) in reducing burnout among IM and pediatric resident physicians in the same institution. It is conjectured that resilience reduces the risk for burnout, but its protective effect is predicated on the degree of exposure that the individual has to various stresses including patient deaths. Hospital administrators and other stakeholders in the healthcare delivery system must collaborate to develop effective programs to combat physician burnout. Appropriate nutrition in any individual is essential for optimal metabolic functions. This is particularly crucial among hospitalized patients for the promotion of good health outcomes. Control of infection, healing of wounds, and early recovery from all types of illnesses are important