University of Santo Tomas Purposive Communication Multimodal Advocacy Plan Group Information Group No. 4 Amor, Krizel Anne Arambulo, Andrei Godwyn Members and Conception, Joshua Edgar their Contact Opao, James Ivan information Robles, Christine Santibanez, Luke Terrel - krizelanne.amor.cics@ust.edu.ph - andreigodwyn.arambulo.cics@ust.edu.ph - joshuaedgar.concepcion.cics@ust.edu.ph - jamesivan.opao.cics@ust.edu.ph - christine.robles.cics@ust.edu.ph - luketerrel.santibanez.cics@ust.edu.ph General Overview Advocacy Speaking Up with A New Mindset Title: SDG Good Health & Well Being Category: Main Problem: Mental Health - Stress, Anxiety, Depression Advocacy: 1. Stopping Mental Health Stigma 2. Mandated Health Breaks Advocacy and 3. Prioritization of Mental Health Clinics/Institutions Goals Goal: Encouraging the people to realize and involve themselves in acknowledging mental health issues and recognize it as a vital role in an individual's wellness and should not be disregarded. Advocacy Details INTRODUCTION This advocacy project will be led by University of Santo Tomas first-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in the Computer Science degree. These students will be monitored by their professors as well as community leaders in their respective areas. Additionally, it can help the students to apply the core values of being Thomasian to help the people in the society and make change to the environment. I. Rationale/Background Mental health issues can be chronic and persistent. It has an impact on people's lives and their capacity to operate and cope with daily life. In the Philippines, it is now the third most frequent disability, in which the number of Filipinos that suffer from depression and anxiety has risen up to six million (Maravilla & Tan, 2021). Currently, a lot of people are still unaware of the gravity that mental illness can pose. There is also the added stigma surrounding it which further worsens the mental health situation in the Philippines. Several reasons contribute to this problem, such as their level of spirituality, belief in superstitions and witchcraft, and the fear of being labeled as insane. As a result of these factors, Filipinos are more likely to hide their mental illness and avoid seeking professional care. In 2017, the Philippines passed its first Mental Health Act, the Republic Act 11036. It aims to ensure access to mental health services while protecting those who suffer from mental disorders. This is the first instance of the country responding and acknowledging the mental health of its people. Nonetheless, mental health still accounts for barely 5% of healthcare spending despite the recent passage of the Mental Health Act and the Universal Health Care Law. This shows that even after garnering the attention of the government, it is not yet enough to gain full support and commitment. However, the main problem of mental health does not come from the lack of healthcare spending, but rather the public and social misconceptions that come with mental health. Despite implementations to promote mental health in the country, it still continues to become a misunderstood topic among the populace. People with mental illnesses are often discriminated against, making those who suffer from them hesitate to speak up about their problems, and this hesitation is what allows mental health problems to continue to persist within the country (Nicolas, 2017). To resolve the issues surrounding mental health, there first needs to be a change within Philippine society’s perception on mental health and just how important it is for each individual person. With this, the group hopes to improve mental health services in the country by increasing public knowledge and understanding, as well as encouraging better mental health through providing educational documentaries, infographics, and inviting influencers or experts to webinars to speak up about the matter. II. Objectives 1. To increase public knowledge of the mental health issues while lessening the stigma attached to mental illnesses 2. To persuade the government to impose mandatory health breaks to serve as a resting period regarding mental health 3. To encourage the government in creating a local health sector than can successfully accommodate the mental health issues of the society III. Strategies 1. Providing or sharing visual aids to the people such as documentaries, and informative videos 2. Posting information about mental health through infographics or posters 3. Encouraging influencers/experts to promote our advocacy by inviting them to a Webinar IV. Support Opposition Student - Students are one of the huge allies within our advocacy since mental health has been a huge part of their environment that helps their mental cognitive functions to function properly. By abiding by our advocacy, it helps strengthen the mental health of the students, thus giving a much larger advantage to learn more on their education. Health Sectors - Health sectors would abide by and follow our advocacy since one of their missions is to provide healthcare to those who need it and it also includes mental health. Through our advocacy, more people with mental health issues can be reached out and be more confident in resolving it. Social Media Influencers - Influencers in social media can be neutral to our cause. Since there are still some people who only experienced mild mental health issues and concerns, they might think that the action is not needed. However, there are many people in the social media platforms, especially the Tiktok platform, who have used their influence to stand by and promote mental health and with this, we can have a strong possibility that many people will abide and join our advocacy and hit our target audiences. V. Target Audience • Anyone from ages 13 and above • Parents or guardians VI. Timeline: Gantt Chart VII. Activities For Advocacy Activities People in Charge Visual Aids • Gathering of Educational Videos o Documentaries o TedTalks o Other Informative videos Researching Committee to be Led by: Luke Santibanez & Joshua Conception Handouts • Designing the Infographics • Designing Posters Creatives/Design Committee to be Led by: Krizel Amor & Christine Robles Promoting • Reaching out to influencers o Providing them the handouts Event Committee to be Led by: Andrei Arambulo & James Opao Materials • Videos downloaded from trusted sites o Youtube • Design Applications o Canva o Adobe Illustrator o Photoshop • Social Media o Twitter o Facebook o Instagram • • Webinars o Inviting experts Otherwise, activities will be assisted by Group 4 VIII. Virtual Conference Applications o Zoom o Google Meet Budget Due to the pandemic, all activities will be done virtually. Thus, materials for the activities will cost approximately Php 0.0 by using applications that are free and available to everyone.
