UPOU’s Aruga Project Showcased in PCHRD’s Talakayang HeaRT BeaT

The University of the Philippines Open University’s (UPOU) project, Aruga sa Batang may Cancer (ABC) Initiative: A Web-based Pediatric Palliative Care Service Provider in the Philippines or “Aruga” was showcased at the Talakayang HeaRT Beat (Health Research and Technology) by the  Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD). 

The episode aired live on 29 September 2021 at DOST-PCHRD’s Facebook Page. It featured five of the DOST’s projects on information and communications technology (ICT) for health that address current healthcare gaps in the country, one of which is the Aruga Project.

DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña presented updates about Aruga and the other ICT for Health projects of DOST including (1) Feasibility Analysis of Syndromic Surveillance using Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler or FASSSTER;  (2) A Retrospective Study on the Accuracy of AI-Powered Reading of Chest X-Rays in the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Tertiary Hospital or CHERISH Study; (3) University of the Philippines Surgical Innovation and Biotechnology Laboratory (UP SIBOL): RxBox Telemetry System for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients and (4) UP SIBOL: Telepresence Terminals for COVID-19 Response Team.

Secretary dela Peña stated that Aruga aims to develop a platform that provides: (1) A learning management system (LMS) with learning materials focused on palliative care for healthcare professionals and primary caregivers of pediatric patients with cancer; (2) A pediatric oncology registry for health facility administrators; and (3) A telemedicine platform for Rural Health Units (RHUs), city health centers, and tertiary healthcare facilities in NCR (Philippine Children’s Medical Center), Region V (Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital), Region VII ( Vicente Sotto Medical Center), and Region XI ( Southern Philippines Medical Center). He also shared that Agura’s LMS has catered to 225 healthcare institutions across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with 134 physicians enrolled to the Pediatric Palliative Care certification course, and 794 nurses registered to the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) certification course. Courses uploaded in the LMS aim to enhance the expertise of healthcare workers on palliative care services for cancer pediatric patients.

In addition, through the Aruga project, training sessions were also conducted among healthcare professionals from Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and their partner Rural Health Units on the use of the platform. A total of 697 consultations were done through the telemedicine platform, at the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), and Pediatric Oncology Registry is now for endorsement to four (4) partner hospitals.

Assistant Professor Rita C. Ramos, Aruga Project Leader and UPOU University Registrar, served as panelist during the talakayan, and addressed the questions about the project especially in terms of its implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Asst. Prof. Ramos shared that Aruga’s Telemedicine is more relevant and more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic since the quarantine measures of the country have limited transportation and face-to-face consultation among patients. In a Facebook post, Asst. Prof. Ramos shared that the DOST-PCHRD’s Talakayang HeaRT Beat is “truly a great way to share our milestones in the project!”

Aruga is a project implemented by the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of UPOU and funded by the DOST-PCHRD. It is  dedicated to provide patients, caregivers and other healthcare providers an access to information related to pediatric palliative care. It was launched by FMDS-UPOU  in partnership with the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) on 22 March 2018.

You may access the Aruga website at arugaproject.com or read about the project on DOST-PCHRD’s website.