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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Ameliorating economic and social growth and the development within the

area of our country is the main objective of the presidential decree 538, which

mandates to design a government-owned and controlled corporation within the

domains of region 10; which lead to the establishment of Philippine Veterans

Investment Development Corporation in the year 1974.

PHIVIDEC as it was commonly known; is an industrial estate to pour local

and international investments, therefore making it as a great means of earning

prodigious amounts of money to flourish our Philippine economy and to alleviate

the country’s poverty. PHIVIDEC encompasses a 3,000 hectare of industrial

state in Misamis Oriental; located particularly in Tagoloan up to the towns of

Villanueva, making it as a very expansive asset of the Philippines. PHIVIDEC as

authorized by the Presidential Decree 538, have special powers that allow it to

operate and construct. Eventually this instigates the construction of the Mindanao

Container Terminal, which is it’s another development firm or a sub branch of

PHIVIDEC.

MCT was roughly refuted as being one of the recognized international

gateways of the Philippines. In this terminal, foreign cargoes are directly loaded

or unloaded, as it still continues to endeavor in achieving its goal; and that is to

transform MCT into a hub port. A Hub Port is an industrialized haven wherein

feeders dock in to feed the mother ship. Therein it contains goods and exports to

be allocated throughout the globe. If the MCT would be given a chance to

become a Hub Port, the Philippines will gain profit in its development; for it can

directly export goods towards other countries and more likely other southeast

Asian countries will dock in our port in order for their goods to be distributed all

over the world, thus making our international sea port more independent and
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self-reliant as it will benefit our country with economic growth and investment

advantage.

Wherefore PHIVIDEC is a feasible access to investments, consequently it

will benefit us in a way that it elevates employment rates and to establish

professionally administered industrial areas, port, and utilities. However, to

compensate the fast growth of PHIVIDEC we may need to have an immense

network of efficient employees. In raising the amount of employees in a certain

company, it needs to pass the propitious standards of health and safety;

consequently, it will earn the employee’s assurance and trust in imparting their

full service towards their jobs. As stated a certain topic in the “Science,

Technology and Society” (Robert Mcginn 2003), it stated that for knowledge and

technological activities to transform into their respective outputs or products, we

may need Transformative resources for its outcome; which are the first order and

second order resources. Particularly, the first order resources include Labor and

Man power. Without Safety and Health, this first order resources will not be

realized, hence, they will not be able to come up with their desired outputs or

products. PHIVIDEC is particularly, a labor intensive capital; therefore, it needs

assiduous and healthy individuals for its function and operation for it to be

possible, let us learn first about health and safety, and how it affects the

company itself.

Health is defined as a protection and improvement of the health conditions

of the entire populations through implementation of preventive measures and

rehabilitation. The goals of health are to prevent human disease, injury, and

disability; protect people from environmental health hazards; promote behaviors

that lead to good physical and mental health; uphold health education; and

assure the availability of high-quality health services. (Microsoft ® Encarta ®

2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation.) Health is also greatly manifested by

the optimum level of functioning of an individual (Public Health Nursing in the

Philippines 2006). Thus, when there’s an evident implementation of health

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services in a company, job efficiency increases because it is fully dependent on

labor and effort, which is directly proportionate to health. According to the “Family

Nursing Care Plan” there are several factors that influences health, however if

were talking about the company’s influence to health, specifically, this factors

could be the Socio-economic factors, Environmental factors and Health and

Medical history.

Socioeconomic factors pertain to the employment, education and housing

of the workers. These greatly affect the health of an individual especially in their

source of living and as well as their abode and shelter. This determines the ability

of the individual to have an access to health care and the capacity to provide

one’s own needs. Environmental factors; focuses on the air, food, working place,

water, noise, radiation and pollution from which these employers are exposed of.

This can greatly affect health whereas it can be a source of detriment or a threat

to their lives. Moreover, the worker’s history of hereditary disease, the typical and

common health complains in the company’s clinic are pertinent to the Health and

Medical history.

Aside from health, Safety also plays a vital role in the company’s setting

wherein it safeguards the lives of the employees. As defined by Microsoft

Encarta, Industrial Safety is an area of safety engineering that deals with the

protection of workers' through the control of their work environment to reduce or

eliminate hazards. (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 © 1993-2006 Microsoft

Corporation. All rights reserved.)Through Safety, we know can further forestall

temporary or permanent injury, illness, or even death that can take a toll in

reduced efficiency and loss of productivity.

Hazards may also result from the interaction between the worker and the

environment; both must be carefully examined to reduce the risk of injury. Injury

can result from poor working conditions, the use of improperly designed

equipment and tools, fatigue, distraction, lack of skill, and risk taking.
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There should be a meticulous scrutinizing for safety in all the following: all

work locations to eliminate or control hazards, operating methods and practices,

the training of employees and supervisors. Documents and records about

accidents and injuries are to be notified also; along with the history of the worker

involved, in order to ensure and eliminate any patterns that might lead to

hazards. Therefore safety should be a priority in a company to be able for it to

sustain the lives of the workers, thus, to sustain its function and efficacy,

especially on Mindanao Container Terminal as its workers serve as the backbone

of its reliability.

Often, Health and safety perceptions are limited to hospital settings only,

however in fact, it is involved with almost anywhere in the world you would

probably mention. People tend to overlook stringent standard protocols that

safeguards Health and safety outside the realms of Health care setting. Our

study will serve as an eye opener that will seek to find the answers of our

questions. Our aim is to have an evaluation and all that induces Health and

safety, especially in hazard prone settings like companies, to contribute to the

welfare of the employees, as well as the company’s growth and expansion, which

perhaps might profit us all by being acquainted with the physical assessment of

Health and safety of this certain promising establishment.

Conceptual framework

This study is anchored on 3 concepts. The first is the concept of

community. According of Deans of the Philippine Colleges of Nursing, a

community is a social group determined by geographic boundaries and or

common values and interest that has some degree of stability. It functions with in

a particular social structure and exhibits and creates norms, values and social

institutions. Therefore, as a unit of social organization, this system starts with

two- person groups and ends with national societies. Any circle of people who

live together, who belong together so that they share a whole set of interest wide
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enough and complete enough to share their lives, is a community. Wherefore as

a community the researchers applied the “community care plan” assessment to

extract whatever significant knowledge from the institution relevant to the

study-“The assessment of determinants of health of the employees of Mindanao

Container Terminal, Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation.”

The second concept is the determinants of health which refers to the

Optimum Level of Functioning (OLOF) of individuals, families and communities

being influenced by several factors in the eco-system. This states that the health

of individuals and communities are, to a large extent, affected by a combination

of many factors like political, behavior, socio-economic, environment, heredity,

and health care delivery system. (Modified by the Community Health Nursing

Committee, NLPGN, 2000)

And the third concept is from the Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

According to Abraham Maslow, safety needs have to do with man’s yearning for

a predictable, orderly world in which justice and inconsistency are under control,

the familiar frequent, and the unfamiliar rare. In the world of work, this safety

needs manifest themselves in such things as a preference for the job security,

grievance procedures for protecting the individual form unilateral authority,

savings account, insurance policies and the like.

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SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

BIOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND

DEMOGRAPHIC AND FACTORS MEDICAL HISTORY
SOCIO-CULTURAL
FACTORS • Past
a. Working facilities hospitalizatio
• Age b. safety towards n/illness
• Sex accident hazards • History of
• Ethnic c. sources of food hereditary
background d. water supply diseases
e. toilet facility • Specific
• Religious
f. garbage and hereditary
affiliation
refuse disposal disease
• Participation on
system • Value place
the company’s
g. Drainage system on health
activities
h. social an health
• Company • Usual and
facilities
privileges common
i. social and health
health
programs
complaints
j. company’s safety
programs/ drills
k. rules and policies
for safety
purposes
l. Company’s
means of
communication
and
transportation.
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Statement of the problem

“The assessment of the determinants of health employees of Mindanao

Container Terminal of the Philippine Veterans Investment Development

Corporation” is the deliberate purpose of our study; as an aftermath for us to

determine the interplay of the determinants of health towards the development of

a company that will instigate the economic growth and the progress of our

country and being a model labor intensive institution requires strict rules and

implementations regarding safety and health and thus inquiry of this study now

comes in to make younger and smaller companies place more value on the

health of their employees as it seeks to answer the following questions.

I. What are the biological, demographic and socio-cultural factors that

affect the health and safety of the respondents?

1) Age

2) Sex

3) Ethnic Background

4) Religious Affiliation

5) Participation in company’s activities

6) Company’s health privileges

II. What are the environmental factors that influence the health of the

respondents?

a) Working Facilities

b) Safety towards Accident hazards

c) Sources of food

d) Water Supply

e) Toilet Facility
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f) Garbage and refused disposal

g) Drainage systems

h) Social and health facilities

i) Social health and programs

j) Safe programs and drills

k) Rules and Policies for safety purposes

l) Means of communication and Transportation

III. What are the Health and Medical history that influence the health of the

respondents?

1) Medical History

2) History of hereditary diseases

3) Value placed on disease prevention

4) Usual & common health complaints

Significance of the study

The aftermath of the study pertains about “The assessment of the

determinants of health employees/workers of Mindanao Container Terminal of

the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation” will be

advantageous to the following:

Companies, nursing students, nurses, workers, investors, people of the

Philippines, future company employees, future researchers, and certainly, the

future generation.

Companies – The companies will surely profit from our study by

assimilating further information and awareness of the determinants of Health

towards the progress of their establishment; by being able to grasp the factors

affecting Health and Safety and how to forestall them. Eventually due to the
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study we conducted, it’ll induce them in the formulation of accurate protocol in

adhering to the standards of health, immense dissemination of health programs

and services and Safety for the prolificacy of the employers, which will eventually

result to their success in the future.

Nursing students – As nursing students like us, this study may be

able to contribute them comprehension what Health and Safety really indicate.

Our research will give them an idea what their vocation needs and how vital it is.

It enables these future nurses also to behold a vision and an understanding

towards their upcoming profession and career, in order for them to formulate their

pace towards in reaching for that common goal.

Nurses – Nurses as a medium for health will also be able to obtain

merit from the broaden insights of Health and Safety brought about by this study.

In a way that these nurses may be able to extend their perception about Health,

not only in the realms of the health care setting but it also encompasses the most

unlikely places, including companies. This will serve as a drive for them not to

overlook health in another setting, but to facilitate health in the most appropriate

care needed; no matter where the whereabouts is.

Workers – Workers will earn their advantages by reaping more

concern and attention from their company towards their welfare; particularly their

health and safety. Through this study they will gain guarantee towards their

capacities and most especially their lives that were depending on it.

Investors - Through our imparted data and information gathered by

our research, it’ll instigate the company of PHIVIDEC to focus in Health and

Safety. Consequently, it will provide these shareholders an assurance towards

PHIVIDEC that it will persist on being competitive and tenacious, worthy of their

trust and warranty.

People of the Philippines – The welfare of our countrymen are

facilitated by our study through the awareness and upholding we imparted about

this indispensable company for the development of our country. In providing such
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studies and information to them, they may be able to be acquainted with the

impact of Health and safety in elevating a company’s level of progress that will

directly affect the economic growth of our country; benefiting all the Filipinos.

Future Employees – Through the study we conducted, future

employees in certain companies will be assured of their lives if the significance of

health and Safety in work sceneries will be properly grasped and disseminated

well. Through studies like this, companies will be able to focus on health

programs and safety guidelines for the welfare of their employers.

Future researchers – This study will provide benefits for the

researchers who will be studying about health and safety on a certain company

and any topic pertinent to this research. It will provide them imperative

information and added knowledge, theories, and basis that they might needed for

their accomplishment of their research paper.

Future generation – When there’s health and safety in a company,

certainly, the efficacy of their establishment follows. Definitely, the one who will

profit to that is the posterity of our country. A surely developed and a highly

industrialized Philippines will hopefully come their way in the near future.

Scope and Limitation

One limitation of this study, however are the strict rules and regulations of

the Mindanao Container Terminal, PHIVIDEC regarding the accessibility of the

port area and of the stringent policy wherein the confidentiality of their offices are

strictly implemented specially in taking pictures, however this does not present a

great problem, though, because the researchers still had the chance to interview

the companies employees beyond the restricted port area, specifically the

employees of the departments of the administration building and of the

departments of the terminal operations building identifiably the port operations

division and wherein in these buildings compose some offices of employees who

used to work and manage the operations carried out and done in the port area.
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This study does not constraint the respondents under the criteria of age,

gender, position in the company, race and religion.

The researchers started to conduct their study last February 18 2009, at

the administration and terminal operations buildings of Mindanao Container

Terminal, PHIVIDEC, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.

This study focuses on the “The assessment of the determinants of health

employees/workers of Mindanao Container Terminal of the Philippine Veterans

Investment Development Corporation”. The researchers will only gather the

important information about the employees of Mindanao Container Terminal and

their safety and health practices in relation to this study.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

Industrial estate. An industrial park (or industrial estate in British English) is

an area of land set aside for industrial development.

Ex. PHIVIDEC as it was commonly known; is an industrial estate to pour local

and international investments, therefore making it as a great means of earning

prodigious amounts of money to flourish our Philippine economy and to alleviate

the country’s poverty..

First transformative resources. Are all resources that is used to transform

technological activities and knowledge into a desired output or product.

Ex: The first order resources include Labor and Man power

Transformative resources. Is the step by step process, method, theories and

information; in realizing the desired product..

Industrial Safety. Is an area of safe engineering, that deals with the protection of

workers and in eliminating hazards.

Labor intensive capital. Jobs that need more labor and man power.

Ex.PHIVIDEC is particularly, a labor intensive capital where it needs assiduous

employees
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Determinants of health. the determinants of health which refers to the Optimum

Level of Functioning (OLOF) of individuals, families and communities being

influenced by several factors in the eco-system. This states that the health of

individuals and communities are, to a large extent, affected by a combination of

many factors like political, behavior, socio-economic, environment, heredity, and

health care delivery system. (Modified by the Community Health Nursing

Committee, NLPGN, 2000)