The Junior Pharmacist Association – Gamma Chapter based in the UST Faculty of Pharmacy won third place in the Research Poster Competition Project Category of the Asian Young Pharmacist Group 2017 Leadership Summit, held in the International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from November 11-13, 2017.
The team, led by the chapter president Christian Jonel L. Arnau, was advised by Assoc. Prof. Nelson Tubon and Assoc. Prof. Mary Jho-Anne T. Corpuz, PhD. Arnau’s co-writers were Justine Francis C. Cabalay, Timothy Justin T. Lopez, and Aubrey Mae A. Tan.
The poster presented the project “LICEnse to Cure & Onychosis Treatment and Management”, which according to the abstract, presented “an open opportunity for the residents of Navotas City, Philippines to lessen, and eventually remove the lice in their heads and treat onychosis with the help of the licensed physicians and student volunteers from the University of Santo Tomas.”
The project took root from “conceptions on head lice [that] revealed socially constructed ideas on public health, cleanliness and parental roles. Such an impact leads to restraint in seeking advice from healthcare providers, thus leading to underestimation of the magnitude of the problem. Onychia is an inflammatory reaction of the nail matrix with development of pus and loss of the fingernail or toenail.”
This project aimed to educate the beneficiaries about the proper treatment and prevention of head lice and onychia, as well as to help residents achieve the highest attainable standard of health by preventing head lice infestation and onychosis, through medicine and medication counselling.
The three-phase project consisted of 1) patient profiling, assessment, and medical consultation; 2) head lice and onychosis treatment seminar and medication counselling; and 3) re-assessment and evaluation of head lice & onychosis.
The University of Santo Tomas Simbahayan Community Development Office contributed the community service fund, which helped the organization to spearhead the project.
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