TACLOBAN CITY, June 3 – To ensure continuity of programs and services amid Covid-19 pandemic, the Eastern Visayas Health Research and Development Consortium (EVHRDC) has started the conduct of meetings among its member institutions during the months of April and May.
The activities are part of the consortium’s commitment in pursuit to produce research outputs and other related concerns that would help improve the health conditions of the region’s populace.
Considering that the consortium is composed of different committees whose members come from various institutions all over the region, regular sharing of insights, plans and other concerns were mostly done through virtual meetings.
This is among the precautionary measures imposed to avoid transmission of the disease while the country is currently experiencing the health crisis and community quarantine being implemented in the different localities.
The EVHRDC as spearheaded by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), is consortium that serves as a venue for inter-agency efforts geared towards health advancement and stability.
The consortium is composed of five (5) working committees namely: Ethics Review Committee (ERC), Research Management Committee (RMC), Capacity Building Committee (CBC), Research Utilization Committee (RUC); the Structure, Organization, Monitoring, and Evaluation Committee (SOME).
For the Ethics Review Committee, it has checked during the meeting on the five (5) new and continuing research protocols that required ethical clearance for the conduct of the study. The committee has also revisited the WFP for the year and identified activities that either need to be pushed through or be cancelled based on the current COVID-19 situation, among others.
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ERC Virtual and Physical Meeting for the 2nd Full Review of protocols on May 12, 2020 at the DOST8 Conference Room and via Zoom Conference. The committee members observed physical distancing and wearing of face masks. |
The Research Management Committee on the other hand has tackled possible strategies in conducting the identified activities given the current status. It has also reviewed three capsule proposals and seven terminal reports on completed funded projects.
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| 1st Quarter RMC Meeting on May 13, 2020 via Cisco Webex |
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| 2nd Quarter RMC Virtual and Physical Meeting on May 21, 2020 at the DOST8 Conference Room and via Cisco Webex. The committee members observed physical distancing and wearing of face masks. |
While the Capacity Building Committee has discussed the revised Work and Financial Plan, it has also dealt with the list of collaborative projects for submission to the Philippine Center for Health Research and Development or PCHRD. These include the trainings on Critiquing of Proposals for Trainer on Basic Research Methods, Basic Research Methods Training (Phase 2), and the Writeshop on the Finalization of Terminal Reports for completed research projects.
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| 1st Quarter CBC Meeting via Zoom Conference on April 30, 2020 |
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| 2nd Quarter CBC Meeting via Zoom Conference on April 30, 2020 |
On the other hand, the use and possible subscription of the Webinar platform for the conduct of identified activities, was decided during the virtual meeting of the Research Utilization Committee. These include the dissemination of completed researches, orientation on the HERDIN Plus database system, and the conduct of the regular Regional Health Research Symposium where some researchers regionwide compete on the Oral Research Paper Presentation and Exhibit of Posters.
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| RUC 1st Quarter Meeting on May 6, 2020 via Zoom Conference | RUC 2nd Quarter Meeting on May 13, 2020 via Facebook Messenger |
The Structure, Organization, Monitoring, and Evaluation Committee has focused on the revision of the work and financial plan as well as the plans for the mid-year and year-end assessments, among the urgent concerns.
Other important discussions were held at the Department of Science and Technology, while strictly observing mandated health protocols. (GTT/PIA-Leyte).
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| SOME 1st Quarter Meeting Via Zoom on May 8, 2020 |
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| SOME 2nd Quarter Meeting Via Google Meet on May 19, 2020 |
