Advancing Nursing Practice to Forward Universal Health Care in the Philippines

The constantly changing healthcare landscape requires the health workforce to enhance their competencies and respond to the complex needs of the population they serve. In the Philippines, Universal Health Care (UHC) is a national priority, which aims to ensure equitable access to affordable and quality health services for all Filipinos. The UHC Act (Republic Act No. 11223)1 stresses that the health system provides comprehensive services across the spectrum of health promotion, illness prevention, health restoration, rehabilitation, and palliation. Moreover, the UHC primarily requires health service delivery to be people-centered, cognizant of their necessities, culture, and values. Primary Health Care, which involves accessible, continuous, and comprehensive care from initial patient contact, together with coordinated care among healthcare workers, is the most inclusive and effective means to achieve UHC.2 Therefore, an adequately supplied and well-equipped human health resources are crucial to guarantee that population’s healthcare needs are appropriately recognized, prioritized, and addressed. The Philippines continues to face health problems as it aims to achieve UHC, considering the underserved populations suffering from high prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, adolescents and young adults confronting the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, mothers and newborns dying from preventable causes, and older adults requiring increased healthcare demands. While policymakers continue to explore reasonable means to address these problems, what is clear is that the status quo in the current health system cannot be allowed to persist. Rather, health agencies should be reoriented, and the healthcare workforce supported to respond to the growing, yet preventable healthcare problems. Nurses are critically positioned to advance the universal health care of Filipinos. With almost half of the health workforce both locally and globally,3 nurses can significantly contribute to the country’s objective of achieving better health outcomes – by promoting health and preventing illnesses among the well and at-risk groups, supporting the treatment of the sick and disabled, and empowering families and communities to attain health and well-being. As nurses provide quality care in various settings, particularly in primary health care, enabling nurses to practice their profession fully can contribute to the goal of “Health for All”. Hence, w