Comics

Health:

Health of the Patient and the Family

Jamie and Lucy’s family were living in Barrio Tanyong, near the river in Malabon. In that particular river, under the residents' houses, people throw their trash into the river, which results in the river being black and dirty. In addition to this, some of the households lack decent facilities, so their human waste is deposited in the river, putting the locals in danger of contracting communicable diseases. Due to Jamie and Lucy's financial situation, all of their children grew up malnourished and sickly because their mother was unable to breastfeed them when they were infants and therefore unable to provide them with the nutrition they needed. Lucy wasn’t able to breastfeed her children since the doctor said not to because she has heart problems. Out of the four brothers and sisters, Rosario was the weakest since she is only 8 months old and is still a baby.

Political Issue

Ang Kuwento ni Rosario is in the setting of the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. During 1982, Corruption and Cronyism was really a big problem in politics. Many Filipinos were being affected by this problem, especially the cost of living. Jamie and Lucy cannot buy medicines, food and infant formula for their children due to their financial issues.

Economic Issue

The cost of living in the Philippines is really anti-poor. They cannot buy medicine and infant formula for their children due to their financial issues. Their family is in poverty, which is the main problem for Rosario’s family.

Socio-Cultural Issue

Because of a lack of resources, the children do not receive a proper education. They also lack family planning, which resulted in them not budgeting for the necessary expenses to support their family and not planning for the number of children they would have.

Wellness:

Wellness Behavior of Rosario's Family

Rosario’s family has poor wellness habits because of the following:

• First, the neighborhood is unsafe for children;

• Second, the mother sometimes doesn't give her kids pure milk; she sometimes buys infant formula when they have the money, but only uses a little bit of the formula just to make the water white;

• Third, the mother doesn't know how to feed her kids or doesn't know what foods have a lot of health benefits for kids, which is why her kids grow up with a lot of illnesses;

• And fourth, her family can't provide for the medical expenses; lastly, her family's health habits are poor.

Impacts of Problems to Health and Well Being of Rosario's Family

The effects of the identified issues may have an impact on their overall health and well-being because wellness refers to the state of living a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind, the effects of this on Rosario's family may include: 

• The children are the most vulnerable because they are young and lack many defense mechanisms of their bodies, making them more susceptible to viruses and other infections because of the neighborhood they are living; 

• Secondly, the identified issues may have an impact on Rosario's family due to lack of money. They don't get much nutrition from their bodies. There is a part in the video where they said that sometimes they don't eat just to feed their children.

Illness:

Poverty is a factor in their poor response to Rosario’s illness, with that being said they became very negligent in their actions and their love for their children is very melancholic. They tried to give the best of their abilities to give the needs of their child, but it is not enough; especially their poverty being a hindrance to their social class.