Centering Indigenous Health Equity - Incite at Columbia University

Incubated Project

Centering Indigenous Health Equity

  • Funding Program Global Change Program
  • Timeframe 2024–2025
  • Affiliated Organizations
    • Atipan Project Center for Informatics, University of San Agustin
  • Location Iloilo City, Philippines
  • Team Lead Dr. Romulo (Jong) de Castro

As the Philippines rolls out universal healthcare, some of the country’s most marginalized people risk being left behind. Indigenous peoples in particular—who have faced centuries of land loss and discrimination through colonization and who live primarily in remote communities—have seen their needs fall to the wayside.

In response, Professors Romulo (Jong) de Castro, John Paul Petrola and Roselle Rivera at the University of San Agustin’s Center for Informatics have been working to enhance health outcomes in twelve underserved Indigenous communities. Through the Atipan Project, they have provided over 7,000 telehealth consultations and have trained 23 community health workers.

With support from the Global Change Program, the team, led by de Castro, will expand this work by hosting dialogues about healthcare access and needs among the Philippines’ Indigenous peoples. Dubbed Indigenous Health Equity Conversations, these sessions will be led by the Ati people, who have recently experienced a transition to more facile healthcare access via digital health through Atipan.

0
0
0
0
00
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

The Ati facilitators will relate their experiences in telehealth and engage other communities in discussing what health equity could and should look like. The key ideas and principles provided by participants will be distilled into policy recommendations to shape the Philippines’ ongoing implementation of universal healthcare toward more equitable outcomes for Indigenous communities.

About the Team

  • 0
    Dr. Romulo (Jong) de Castro

    Life sciences researcher, biomedical informatics professional and healthcare leader focused on data for health, environment and governance. He is director of the Center for Informatics at the University of San Agustin.

  • 0
    Professor John Paul Petrola

    Indigenous People communities expert who has facilitated the implementation of Atipan in 15 communities in Western Visayas.

  • Professor Roselle Rivera

    Social scientist and a community development expert who works to ensure gender justice in digital health technologies as they are implemented in low-resource settings.

Related News

More Projects

  • go to Documenting as Resistance
    Documenting as Resistance
    Resisting displacement in America's most diverse neighborhood through socially-engaged public art. Part of Assembling Voices
  • go to All in Favor: An Oral History of Philanthropy
    All in Favor: An Oral History of Philanthropy
    All in Favor is a first-of-its-kind research project capturing the voices and oral histories of foundation trustees across the country. At a moment when philanthropy faces growing political scrutiny, All in Favor opens a door into this world and invites trustees to reflect on the social and political contexts of their service. Funded by the Ford Foundation
  • go to Domestic Harmony
    Domestic Harmony
    Bridging political and social divides across the nation one song at a time. Funded by Incite Institute in partnership with Academy for Teachers
  • go to Freedom On The Move
    Freedom On The Move
    Mining historical newspapers to uncover thousands of self-emancipator stories, making these vital records freely accessible to all. Part of the Left Field Fund