Thailand
We are keeping our passion alive to improve the lives of patients, by making changes to the Thai health system by supporting relevant agencies and communities in order to achieve better health care outcomes.
Cooperation between three sectors, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Thai Wacoal Public Company Limited, and Mission Leapfrog has led to the first experiment at Thai Wacoal factory site being completed, with the goal of expanding the access of Thai women within the age group of 30-60 years to the HPV-DNA self-exam collection.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Thailand after breast cancer. It can often be found early and even prevented by regular screening tests. To encourage Thai women to have regular tests, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has pushed cervical cancer screening tests in the government’s healthcare schemes. However, the access to the screening is significantly low due to the lack of awareness of using “Health Wallet” smartphone applications for health benefit information and eligibility for medical services.
The onsite pilot HPV-DNA self-sampling for Cervical Cancer Screening with eligible women workers of Thai Wacoal has been put in place, the event was promoted 2 weeks in advance in the factory and targeted women were educated about the importance of HCP-DNA screening and the risk of cervical cancer. The 2-day onsite self-exam collection was planned by setting up 4 stations: 1) Health Wallet registration through mobile app 2) Confirmation of Health benefit eligibility and verifying the authenticity of the claims 3) Instruction on HPV-Self sampling use 4) Returning the HPV-DNA test kits.
One of the women workers said “The registration process in “Health Wallet” smartphone application has helped her to understand the health benefits that she has not been aware of before”.
This has led to a more effective actionable plan that NCI will be taking to engage with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) who have the resources to amplify the impact by replicating this model in urban areas through their 69 primary health centers.
The Mission Leapfrog team is now also working with private and government stakeholders in southern Thailand to increase HPV-DNA screening access for Thai women there. We are creating an experiment on the Telehealth model of HPV screening at the provincial level where other provinces or health departments involved can replicate. This aligns with the Mission Leapfrog’s Scalability Strategy in order to make the most impact on cervical cancer cases in the region. Please stay-tuned for more updates in the following months.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Experts in Thailand
Farid Bidgoli
Kirida Bhaopichitir
Nares Damrongchai
Pitchetpong Srisuwankul
Other Regions
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Philippines
The implementation of the Universal Healthcare law in 2019 accelerated the healthcare reform in the country. With its implementation, key opportunities and challenges were identified in revitalizing the healthcare system. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light additional gaps as more healthcare resources were shifted to address COVID cases. While Universal Health Care aims to achieve equitable access to quality and affordable health care services for all Filipinos, access to basic primary healthcare services in remote communities remains to be a challenge.
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