Astudy of 689 land-based overseas Filipino workers in Asia, Europe and the Middle East found out that the common illnesses of women OFWs concern the reproductive health, while male workers suffer from cardiovascular, urinary, neurological and immune system.
The study, titled “Common Health Problems Among Overseas Filipino Workers [OFWs],” was conducted by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The study confirmed that OFWs, known as the country’s bagong bayani, or new heroes, are overworked, stressed and sometimes suffer from mental-health problems, because of their poor work environment, including unfamiliar weather conditions and verbal abuse by their employers.
Citing results of the 2017 study, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said while there are health-related programs initiatives by both the government and private health organizations, OFWs need to be fully aware and understand these in order to maximize its utilization for their well-being.
He underscored the importance of scientific research in identifying problems and solutions through social science, which does not escape the mandate of the NRCP, the country’s oldest research and development unit. De la Peña spoke during the DOST Technology Media Conference-Social Dimensions of Scientific Research.
“Social sciences deserve space in scientific research,” de la Peña said as he presented the study of Veronica E. Ramirez, a member of the NRCP who gathered data and conducted interviews with OFWs and their families both in the country and abroad.
“The social science aspects of the research are very relevant today,” he said, pointing out that there is now a proposal to create a separate agency focusing on OFWs.
‘Tip of the iceberg’
Conducted between May 2017 and October 2017, the study covered a total of 689 land-based OFWs as respondents based on the medical claims from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
The OFWs were grouped according to occupation, sex, age, region or country of work.
Common in all three regions—Middle East, Europe and Asia—are diseases of reproductive, cardiovascular and immune systems.
The 689 claimants at OWWA during the period was just “the tip of the iceberg,” Ramirez said, as there are OFWs who opted not to avail themselves of health benefits either by OWWA or PhilHealth due to numerous factors.
Interviewed by the BusinessMirror, Ramirez said the regions with the highest OWWA and PhilHealth medical claims are those without or with minimum social-security benefits in their country of work.
Speaking in a mix of English and Filipino, Ramirez said the medical costs or expenses for maintaining good health and physical well-being seem to influence the health-seeking behavior of OFWs.
“In the absence of affordable and accessible health care, OFWs resort to self-medication and or do not report their health condition due to fear of losing their jobs,” she said.
In the case of those working in the Middle East, the desert is also a big hindrance.
“OFWs are discouraged by the need to cross deserts just to seek medical attention,” she said.
Moreover, she added OFWs’ lack of awareness of their medical benefits, if there are any, is a major problem.
“Most OFWs who refuse to seek proper health care are the undocumented ones who fear being sent back home. Of course, when they seek medical assistance, they will be required to submit proper documents, which they do not have,” she said.
According to the study, the top occupational groups with OWWA medical claims are household workers (29 percent), service or sales workers (18 percent) and technicians (11 percent).
There were more male (369) than female claimants (320), with 20 percent of the total coming from the 46-50 age group.
Meanwhile, she said most common illness of women OFWs concerns the reproductive health.
More male claimants suffer from cardiovascular, urinary or excretory, neurological and immune or lymphatic diseases, she said.
Topping the most number of claimants are OFWs from the Middle East, which comprise around 68 percent of the total. Only 13 percent are from Asia.
Unsurprisingly, household service workers in the Middle East also have the most number of medical problems.
Poor working conditions
According to the study, before working as OFWs, the interviewees had no major health problems.
However, Ramirez said it doesn’t mean that the health problems were acquired in their place of work.
“Most OFWs may have acquired the disease here before going abroad,” she said.
Working conditions of OFWs have a lot to do with their health woes, the study said.
Better working conditions, it says, must have free medical consultation, clinics for employees, provision of first-aid kit in the workplace; a designated safety officer; company health insurance, adequate waste disposal, private toilet and bath, social security; paid vacation leave, and one day off per week.
Unfortunately, most OFWs land jobs with poor working conditions.
Among the problems revealed by interviewees are their being made to work 10 hours or more; no day-off or sick leave; exposure to occupational hazards like smokes, fumes or noises; being forced to do multiple jobs and multiple shifts; and lack of decent accommodation.
Policy recommendations
Among the policy recommendations of the study are to incorporate in the Pre-departure Orientation Seminar the health awareness programs, customize it to the specific country, and to highlight the common health problems with preventive measures based on their country of deployment.
The study also recommended the enactment of a law ensuring health and life insurance for OFWs; and the inclusion of health education and promotion, health counseling, and coaching in health insurance coverage provided by health companies or health maintenance organizations.
Also, it will help to expand the medical benefits of OFWs to cover actual hospitalization expenses from the current range of P3,000 to P25,000.
The study recommended designing medical benefits according to common health problems by sex, by region or country of work, and by occupation in cognizance for the various risk factors associated with groupings like sex, region and occupation.
1 comment
The article states that reproductive health concerns are the top concern of female OFWs, but doesn’t specify what those concerns actually are.