PRIMEX won the competitive bidding for the conduct of a baseline study on Health-Seeking Behavior, Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) on Positive Prevention Among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) for the Philippine Department of Health’s (DOH). DOH issued the Notice of Award on 21 January 2010.
The output of the four-month research work is expected to equip DOH with the right basis for formulating appropriate policies and plan of action in minimizing, if not stopping, the spread of the dreaded virus. But while it primarily targets PLHIV as respondents, the survey shall, likewise, involve individuals who face similar risks, such as mothers and victims’ siblings, health care providers, caregivers, and homosexuals, among others.
The PRIMEX research team is composed of Dr. Florante Magboo, Project Director; Dr. Carlos Calica, Principal Investigator; and Dr. Isabel Melgar, Co-Investigator. They will be assisted by Ms. Lady Kristine Cruz, Research Assistant. The research will be conducted in four locations; Manila, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Davao.
As of September 2008, the Department of Health (DOH) AIDS Registry in the Philippines reported 3,456 people living with HIV (PLHIV), but the United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that 12,000 Filipinos were HIV-positive as of the end of 2005.