The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) granted clearance for the conduct of the Profiling Survey of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (TAHC) Practitioners in the Philippines by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) on 25 November 2019. The survey will be conducted by Macro Health Research Organization, Inc., a third-party organization commissioned by PITAHC.

The survey aims to:

• provide baseline data on the current status of TAHC in the Philippines;
• serve as a foundation in building a national registry of TAHC practitioners; and
• aid in the development of a scientific approach to policymaking regarding to the practice of TAHC and its harmonization with modern medicine.

Major data items collected in the survey are the following:

• demographic profile of the TAHC practitioner (age, sex, nationality, marital status, highest education completed, occupation apart from health care practice, and religion)
• type of method and tools used for TAHC practice
• mode of acquisition of TAHC knowledge
• length of TAHC practice
• average number of patients in a day

About 5,442 TAHC practitioners from the provinces of Quirino, Oriental Mindoro, Samar, and Agusan del Sur will be interviewed for the survey. TAHC is defined in Republic Act No. 8423 (Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997) as any knowledge, skill, and practice, other than those in the biomedicine, which is used in the prevention, diagnosis, and elimination of physical or mental disorder.

The survey will utilize a total budget of PhP 6.7 million to cover personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses, capital outlay, and administrative costs.

Survey results are expected to be released in July 2020.

The survey was reviewed and cleared for conduct under the Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System (SSRCS), a mechanism being implemented by the PSA by virtue of Rule 28 of Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10625 to:

• ensure sound design for data collection;
• minimize the burden placed upon respondents;
• effect economy in statistical data collection;
• eliminate unnecessary duplication of statistical data collection efforts; and
• achieve better coordination of government statistical activities.

In line with this, the PSA enjoins sample TAHC practitioners from the provinces of Quirino, Oriental Mindoro, Samar, and Agusan del Sur to support the said survey. Meanwhile, the PSA would like to inform the general public that the PSA is only mandated to review and clear the survey materials through the SSRCS. In the event that the survey proponent hires a third-party entity to undertake the survey on their behalf, kindly note that the PSA does not have control over the agreement between the survey proponent and the third-party entity.

For further information on SSRCS, please contact the Statistical Standards Division of the Standards Service with telephone numbers
(02) 8376-1928 and (02) 8376-1931, and email address: ssd.staff@psa.gov.ph or ssdss.staff@gmail.com.

CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

See more at the Statistical Survey Review and Clearance System (SSRCS) landing page.