Date of Publication
7-2026
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Health Social Science
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences
College
College of Liberal Arts
Department/Unit
Behavioral Sciences
Thesis Advisor
Czarina C. Labayo-Prieto
Defense Panel Chair
Marlon DL Era
Defense Panel Member
Zaldy C. Collado
Diana Therese M. Veloso
Abstract (English)
This study examined the health system vulnerabilities and localized survival strategies of Halian Island (an off-grid, geographically isolated barangay in Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, Philippines) in the prolonged aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai). Guided by the dual theoretical frameworks of General Systems Theory (GST) and the Lens of Adaptation, and evaluated through the World Health Organization (WHO) Health System Building Blocks Framework, this inquiry investigated residents’ post-disaster experiences, the structural state of the local health system, and community adaptation strategies. Employing an exploratory qualitative case study design, data were gathered through key informant interviews with healthcare workers (n=3), focus group discussions with local residents (n=10), and on-site field observations, and were subsequently analyzed thematically.
The qualitative findings reveal severe, interconnected vulnerabilities across the island ecosystem. Systemic flaws in health devolution under the Local Government Code of 1991 created extreme workforce precarity, overburdening the single contractual Job Order Nurse and barangay health workers. When Super Typhoon Odette struck, this baseline precarity triggered a cascading collapse across all WHO health system building blocks: it disrupted telecommunications (Health Information Systems), bottlenecked drug procurement and forced the closure of the official pharmacy (Essential Medicines), created catastrophic out-of-pocket pumpboat charter costs for referrals (Health Financing), introduced local political friction (Leadership and Governance), and led to the complete failure of clinical care in a destroyed, unpowered facility (Service Delivery). Concurrently, historical extraction of fossilized coral blocks (paldo) stripped natural wave barriers, causing severe coastal erosion, unearthing the coastal burial grounds, and triggering chronic psychological trauma. To survive these structural collapses, the community deployed short-term, reactive coping tactics under the Lens of Adaptation, including foraging for breadfruit (kulo), gleaning (manginhas), using traditional herbal medicine, converting a private domestic home into an ad hoc clinic, and purchasing prescription-only antibiotics from unregulated retail (sari-sari) stores.
Ultimately, the study concludes that while these informal workarounds reflect immense community resourcefulness, they are unsustainable survival tactics that pose severe long-term public health hazards, including unmonitored risks of non-communicable disease and antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, normalizing these informal practices creates a negative feedback loop that inadvertently obscures state neglect and vertical governance failures. Transitioning from reactive survival to long-term climate resilience requires institutionalizing formal health subsystems across the WHO building blocks through permanent plantilla staffing, subsidized emergency maritime transit funds, storm-resistant primary care facilities, and regulated pharmaceutical supply lines.
Keywords: Post-Disaster Recovery, Health Systems, Adaptation Strategies, General Systems Theory, Geographically Isolated Islands, Super Typhoon Odette
Abstract Format
html
Abstract (Filipino)
Sinaliksik ng pag-aaral na ito ang mga kahinaan ng sistemang pangkalusugan at ang mga paraan ng pamumuhay ng mga tao sa Isla ng Halian (isang nakahiwalay at walang kuryenteng barangay sa Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte) matapos ang Bagyong Odette (Rai). Gamit ang General Systems Theory (GST), Lens of Adaptation, at ang WHO Health System Building Blocks Framework, sinuri ng kwalitatibong case study na ito ang karanasan ng mga residente, ang kalagayan ng kalusugan sa lokal na antas, at ang mga diskarte ng komunidad upang makaraos. Ang datos ay kinalap sa pamamagitan ng panayam sa mga manggagawang pangkalusugan (n=3), talakayan sa mga residente (n=10), at obserbasyon sa isla.
Lumalabas sa pag-aaral na matindi ang epekto ng bagyo sa buong isla. Dahil sa mga problema sa pagpapatakbo ng kalusugan sa ilalim ng Local Government Code of 1991, labis na nahirapan ang iisang nars na Job Order at ang mga boluntaryong Barangay Health Worker. Nang tumama ang Bagyong Odette, ang kulang na tauhan ay nagdulot ng sunod-sunod na pagbagsak sa anim na building blocks ng WHO: naputol ang linya ng komunikasyon (Health Information Systems), nabara ang pagbili ng gamot at nagsara ang pampublikong parmasya (Essential Medicines), naging napakamahal ng pamasahe sa bangka kapag may dadalhing pasyente sa bayan (Health Financing), nagkaroon ng gulo sa lokal na pulitika (Leadership and Governance), at tuluyang natigil ang panggagamot sa nasirang pasilidad na walang kuryente (Service Delivery). Kasabay nito, ang lumang pagkuha ng mga paldo sa baybayin ay nagdulot ng matinding pagliit ng dalampasigan, pagkalubog ng sementeryo, at matinding takot sa mga tao. Upang mabuhay, umasa ang komunidad sa mga pampalit na paraan: kumain sila ng kulo, nanganhas, gumamit ng herbal na gamot, ginawang klinika ang isang pribadong bahay, at bumili ng mga kompletong reseta ng gamot sa mga lokal na sari-sari store.
Sa kabuuan, napag-alaman ng pag-aaral na bagama't ipinapakita ng mga gawaing ito ang diskarte ng mga mamamayan, ang mga ito ay pansamantalang paraan lamang na nagdudulot ng matinding panganib sa kalusugan, tulad ng antimicrobial resistance at hindi nababantayang malalalang sakit. Bukod dito, ang patuloy na pag-asa sa mga ganitong paraan ay nagtatakip sa kapabayaan at mga pagkukulang ng pamahalaan. Upang makabangon ang isla patungo sa pangmatagalang kaligtasan sa klima, kailangang ayusin ang pormal na sistemang pangkalusugan batay sa mga rekomendasyon ng WHO, sa pamamagitan ng permanenteng trabaho para sa mga nars, tulong sa pamasahe sa bangka kapag may emergency, matibay na mga klinika, at maayos na suplay ng mga gamot.
Mga Susing Salita: Post-Disaster Recovery, Health Systems, Adaptation Strategies, General Systems Theory, Geographically Isolated Islands, Super Typhoon Odette
Abstract Format
html
Language
English
Format
Electronic
Keywords
Typhoons--Philippines--Surigao del Norte; Emergency management; Health systems agencies
Recommended Citation
Nodado, K. E. (2026). Post-super typhoon Odette: Exploring the health system and adaptation strategies among the residents of Halian Island, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. Retrieved from https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_behsc/23
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Embargo Period
8-19-2028
