PHARMACY students from UST won best poster awards in the 21st Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) Poster Competition held virtually last July 9-17.
Winning second prize, the team of Rachelle Ann Pera, Christian Paulo Pichay, Ena Bianca Reyes, Jannie Belle Rodriguez, Lovely Johnel Romero, Annwell Sangalang, Caela Marie Santiago, Ma. Camila Isabel Santiago and Mariel Abby Santiago also won the best popular poster award for their assessment of Metro Manila residents and workers’ perception of Covid-19 contact tracing technologies.
Pera said that the country needs to improve its implementation of contact tracing technologies, which is key to combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The main focus of our research study is the perception of individuals regarding contact tracing technologies in the Philippines as the group agrees that the country is lacking in this aspect,” Pera said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
“We aim to generate new knowledge to help in the improvement of the implementation of the said technology,” she added.
Meanwhile, the team of Frances Alejandro, Bhea Allison Aquino, Jillian Solfia Batilaran, Loren Carla Bugay, Julianne Lorraine Cabeltes and Daphne Hazel Co, placed third for their poster entitled, “A Phenomenological Study on Lived Experiences of Pharmacy Students as Covid-19 Survivors and Caregivers.”
Alejandro said that their study aimed to shed light on how Covid-19 affected students and to give recommendations on how academic institutions can help them cope.
“We wanted to share our study by recommending students’ proposed coping strategies and interventions that the institution can provide to help mitigate their situations and support others who are experiencing the same difficulties,” Alejandro told the Varsitarian.
The two teams were guided by Asst. Prof. Rhona Ramos, Asst. Prof. Jay Jazul and Marri Jmelou Roldan of the UST Faculty of Pharmacy.
APPS is an annual symposium held by the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation Asia Pacific Regional Office, where pharmacy students from Asia-Pacific countries participate in various workshops. Adrian L. Parungao
