Leyte, Philippines is the 8^th largest and 6^th most populous island in the Philippines, located in the Eastern Visayas region with a population of 2,626,970 (as of 2020). The island measures 7,367.6 km² in land area and is characterised by the rugged Leyte Central Highland Range which runs across the island's length.

The mountainous terrain and prevalence of natural disasters limit healthcare access for barangays (villages). Alongside these geographical challenges are financial constraints faced by a population largely dependent on agriculture, and lack of basic infrastructure and knowledge to exercise good health practices.

This has resulted in numerous pressing concerns, including the endemic spread of infectious diseases - most notably schistosomiasis - and proliferation of various chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes that are often left untreated.

Health screening is crucial to assess the health of the local community, pick up on underlying conditions that may have gone unnoticed and provide valuable health advice to the villagers. Our health screenings comsists of a series of stations that include triage, height and weight, vital signs, eyesight test, blood glucose monitoring (BGM), urine dipstick, ECG and the doctor’s consultation. For a large part of the local community, this may be their only chance to get such a comprehensive checkup and seek medical advice, making this an extremely important endeavour.

In July 2025, we managed to screen close to 1000 patients over the course of 4 days and 6 barangays. We were able to uncover a number of chronic conditions, including 79 cases of undiagnosed hypertension with blood pressure (BP) > 140/90, with 27 cases of hypertensive urgency with BP >180/110, and 60 cases of undiagnosed diabetes. In total, 50 referrals for ophthalmologic conditions were made, alongside several cases of suspected heart conditions where immediate transport was arranged by our team.

Moving forward, we hope to expand the scope and scale of our health screening to make it more relevant to the local community and deliver healthcare to those who need it the most.

Health Education is vital to ensure that local villages are equipped with the required knowledge to make good health decisions thereby fostering a long-term culture of prioritising health that goes beyond our health screenings. This is primarily achieved through dispelling myths and clarifying common misconceptions which is especially pertinent for widespread infectious diseases like schistosomiasis. Covering topics such as diet management, smoking cessation, sexual health and family planning, we aim to help the community we serve make lifestyle changes to prevent the onset of conditions such as hypertension and diabetes thus prolonging their healthspan and avoiding the potential financial burden of healthcare costs.

Our team conducted health education sessions at 3 different elementary schools and the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY), bringing essential health information and knowledge to a total of about 500 children aged 5-12, 30 youths aged 13-25 and 100 adults, including teachers, parents and Barangay Health Workers.

Home visits are crucial to give us first-hand exposure to the locals' lifestyle and living conditions. Speaking to the locals directly gives us a better understanding of the health challenges faced by the community grounded in the local context. We can thereby tailor our Health Screening and Health Education programme to the cultural and geographical complexities of the region to increase its relevance and effectiveness for the local community.

Our health screenings also enhanced the learning of our medical students, exposing them to medical conditions rarely seen in Singapore. The doctors on the trip guided the students through the symptoms and physical examinations of these conditions, as well as how to manage and approach these patients. We also partnered the local universities Doña Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Educational Foundation Inc. (DRTREFI) and University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Centre (UERM) whose students volunteered with us for our health screenings.

This allowed for knowledge exchange between our Singaporean and Filipino members, enabling both parties to learn more about their respective healthcare systems and shortfalls that could be addressed in future trips. Medical students from DRTREFI also had the opportunity to act as translators for Singaporean doctors at the consultation stations, and joined us in practising their history-taking and physical examination skills, with feedback from our doctors.