Highlighting the importance of translating research results into policy and practice, the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) held the 3-Minute Pitch to Policymakers Competition last 14 August 2020 which featured 11 online presentations from health researchers across the country.
The event aims to exercise and cultivate researchers’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. “It’s not enough to do good research, we have to be able to translate that [research] into usable form so that they will benefit our countrymen,” said Dr. Cecilia Cristina Santos-Acuin, Chair of the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Research Utilization Committee, emphasizing the role of such activities in building robust healthcare systems.
This year’s champion is Ms. Geraldine Ridad of the Mindanao State University- Iligan Institute of Technology, representing Region 10, with her pitch entitled “Together We Beat Diabetes with Project DiabEHT.” Second place winner is Ms. Hazel Anne Catublas of the Adamson University- College of Pharmacy, representing the National Capital Region with the policy pitch entitled “Bridging the Gap for the Improvement of Access to Healthcare of the Filipino Deaf Community.” The third place is awarded to Mr. Michael Bacus of the University of the Philippines Mindanao, representing Region 11, for his pitch entitled “Healthy Nature for Healthy People.”
For the special award, Dr. Ronnell Dela Rosa of the Bataan Peninsula State University, representing Region 3, bagged the People’s Choice Award for the policy pitch entitled “Smoke-Free City Living and Tobacco-Free Generation in the City of Balanga.”
Aligned with the research utilization and capacity building thrusts of the PNHRS, all competitors were nominated by their respective health research and development consortia.
“Through this event, researchers learn to engage all the policymakers who will be using the results of their research. This supports our objective of ensuring that health policies are evidence-informed and will serve the best interest of Filipinos,” said Ms. Merlita Opeña, Chief of the Research Information, Communication, and Utilization Division of the DOST-PCHRD, congratulating all finalists and winners of the competition.
