Shelley D.

Pantinople

Kwento ni Rosario Reaction Paper

1. What is the message of this film? Do you agree or disagree with any parts of
it? Why?
For me, the message of the film is about poverty and its ramifications of
poor quality of life in terms of lack of education, poor housing conditions,
malnutrition, lack of access to health care, and etc which can all lead to adverse
health outcomes. It also showed the health care system and its role crucial in the
health of the people.

I disagree with certain actions of the healthcare workers in the film. I

disagree with the physician who advised Rosario’s mother to not breastfeed
because she has a heart problem. She showed no symptoms of a heart problem
and can even work well in doing household chores. But even if she had a heart
problem, it is still not a contraindication to breastfeeding, which resulted in
feeding her child with condensed milk and sometimes fortified milk, which is
mostly water, contributing to Rosario’s malnutrition and just adding up to their
financial burden. I also disagree with the barangay health care worker’s
prescribed medications, which are in brand name and are very expensive when
the ideal way should be that the public health system will make a way for free
medications for poor. If there were no medications, at least generic medications
should have been prescribed to lessen the costs for them. The medications also
did not seem to help Rosario. She was prescribed with a mucolytic when she did
not have symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and she was given
antibiotics, when she was presumed to have measles and diarrhea, which are of
no help to her. Management should have focused on her hydration and she
should have at least been given free ORS. I also did not agree with the part that
the health care worker advised them to be sent to a private hospital when they
clearly could not afford it. The child should have been sent to a public hospital to
lessen their financial expenses. I also did not agree with the private hospital who
asked for down payment before they would attend to the patient. Everyone
should have access to health care even if they are poor and management of the
patient should come first before money.

2. Did you learn anything from the film? Discuss.

I learned a lot from the film, because it showed the different social
determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work
and age that contribute to health status.
 For instance, the concept of economic stability, which reflects employment
status that is strongly correlated to nutrition and accessing health care. For
example, Rosario’s father had low income, making them poor, which in turn
deprived Rosario from having adequate fortified milk, leading to her malnutrition
and recurrent gastroenteritis aggravated by their unsanitary living conditions. It
also limited their access to health care because they could not afford the services
of a private hospital, which resulted in her death.
The impact of education also affects health, with lack of proper health
education leading to unhealthy practices that negatively affect health. For
example, Rosario’s mother was not educated well regarding the contraindications
to breastfeeding, thinking that a heart disease is a contraindication to
breastfeeding, which led her not to breastfeed her infant Rosario, resulting to her
malnutrition. She was also uneducated regarding healthy food options for her
children, making her children malnourished.
The impact of health systems such as public health programs also affects
health. public health programs that would have addressed malnutrition could
have helped improve the nutritional status of the children and if public health
programs were geared towards public education regarding the importance of
breastfeeding, then Rosario’s mother would have been corrected regarding her
wrong insight about breastfeeding and she would have known the right and
healthy foods to give her children. When Rosario became sick, the health care
system

3. Was there anything you did not understand about the film or the actions of the
characters? What was that?
I did not understand the part where Rosario’s mother was told by a
physician that she is not allowed to breastfeed because she has a heart problem,
when she even did not show any signs of heart diseases such as activity
intolerance or dyspnea. And even if she had a heart problem, it is not a
contraindication for breastfeeding.

Another thing I don’t understand is the costly branded medications

prescribed for Rosario when they are very poor. There should be sensitivity
regarding the economic status of the patients. They were forced to buy
expensive medications when they could have bought cheaper ones. When
prescribing medications, they should be in the generic form, which are a lot
cheaper. The result is that they were not able to comply with the recommended
duration of taking the medication because they did not have money already. This
could have been avoided if they prescribed cheaper ones. And I even question
the medications given, since it was mentioned that she had measles, which is a
viral infection and she was prescribed with antibiotics, which does not work for
viral infections and she was also prescribed with mucolytic, when she did not
even had a cough. Considering that she had diarrhea, ORS should at least have
been given free to her and vitamin A. Nothing was also given to support her
nutrition considering that she was malnourished. And I also did not understand
that the barangay health care worker was not even able to give free medications.
Budget should be allocated to provide free medications to the poor.
Another thing that I did not understand about the film is why the barangay
health care worker advised to send Rosario to a private hospital, when they could
have sent her to a public hospital, wherein the cost could have been less. They
were even asked for deposit before treatment was given, which I strongly
disagree with. And I also did not understand it when the private hospital asked
them to just come back when they have money, when they should have just
advised them to go to a public hospital for Rosario to get adequate medical
management rather than just have her managed at home, when Rosario clearly
needs to be hospitalized especially considering the fact that she is malnourished
to start with.

4. What did you like best about the film? Why?

What I liked most about the film is that it is very realistic, showing the
reality of how people living in poverty have poor housing conditions, living in
crowded areas with increased risk of acquiring communicable diseases; scarce
water supply, unsanitary toilet facilities that increase the risk of acquiring
infectious diseases and less access to health care. It showed the problem of
malnutrition among the poor and lack of education, which can negatively impact
health and can even result to mortality, like what happened to Rosario.

I like the fact that it reminded us on a pervasive problem in the society,

which is poverty and that we can certainly take note from the movie that public
health should be geared more towards helping the poor overcome the
hindrances to having a healthy life, from finding solutions to help improve their
nutritional status to helping them access quality health care, and strengthening
campaigns of public health education.

5. What did you like least about the film? Why?

The film is good overall, but if there is something unlikeable in the story is
the sad reality of the health inequity it showed, where the poor have less access
to health care, when it should be fought for that everyone should have access to
health care regardless of social status.

6. Are the film’s messages about life issues portrayed realistically or accurately?
For me, the movie realistically portrayed life’s issues of the pressing
problem of poverty and how it limits the access to health care and how it
manifests in poor housing conditions with crowding, unsanitary toilet facilities,
and malnutrition, which can all negatively impact health. It also portrayed the fact
that there are still lapses in the health care system and that there are things to
work on and improve in the health care delivery system of the country to better
serve the poor.

7. Did any of the characters in this film make you angry? Discuss why?
I am angered by the physician who gave out a wrong medical advise,
saying that Rosario’s mother should not breastfeed because she has a heart
problem when her mother did not show any signs of heart problem and if she
really had a heart problem, it’s not even a contraindication for breastfeeding. It
deprived Rosario from the opportunity of being breastfeed, which resulted in her
malnutrition because she was only fed with condensed milk and once in a while,
a fortified milk, which is mostly water. It even added to their expenses,
considering that they are poor to start with.
I was also angered by the health care worker who prescribed expensive
medications that did not even help treat Rosario and referred them to a private
hospital, not considering the fact that they are poor.

8. Is the problem to be solved in the film familiar to you in any way? If so,
describe the similarities and differences.
Yes, the problem in the movie is familiar to me since it showed the problem
of poverty and the subsequent limited access to health care that resulted in
mortality. This scenario is very common in the Philippines since we are in a
developing country and most Filipinos are poor. I encountered this problem many
times as I had my hospital duty since I was a nursing student even as I had my
medical clerkship. It is common to see parents struggling to have their children
sent to a hospital amidst their financial constraints. I also witnessed patients
refuse medical care because they could not afford the costs. Like the movie
where Rosario had recurrent diarrhea, it is evident today that it is the poor that
are at risk of acquiring diseases because of unsanitary living conditions.
Like Rosario who suffered malnutrition because of the lack of education, I
also saw patients suffer because they were unaware of the health implications of
their practices. This is still true today, many people are uninformed about their
wrong health practices and needs to be given proper health education.
The prescription of brand name in the movie is already different today
because by law, generic medications should be prescribed already.
The act of asking for deposit before treating patients is still sadly seen
today in private hospitals.
The film also showed the lapses in the health care system, which is also
evident today, where medications are still not available for the poor and the
public health system needs to strengthen policies and interventions to make sure
that people get proper access to health care.