USC Center for Social Research and Education

USC CSRE researchers Marjury E. Dino and Zona Hildegarde S. Amper present their paper on "Growing up with Disabilities: Experiences of Filipino Adolescents and their Families" as part of Parallel Session B: OPSFI symposium: Assessing the Status of the Filipino youth as we approach the Sustainable Development Goals endline, during the 10th University Research Conference held at USC-Talamban Campus. The paper zeroes in on SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities) by looking at the intersectionality of factors affecting the experiences of adolescents with disabilities at ages 10 and 16 based on the Longitudinal Cohort Study on the Filipino Child (LCSFC) of the USC- Office of Population Studies Foundation, Inc.

The interdisciplinary Research team for the study on "Primary Health Care Services in Cebu: History and Current Status" presents its findings in three posters during the 10th University Research Conference at USC Talamban Campus. One of the findings of the study was on the persistence of traditional healing practices regardless of educational background, showing a plurality of health which blends biomedicine with ethnomedicine embedded in Cebuano culture. The team is composed of faculty-researchers from the fields of Anthropology, History, and Nursing.

USC-CSRE's research on "Primary Health Care Services in Cebu: History and Current Status" is one of the posters to be presented during the 10th University Research Conference on April 23 and 24, 2026 at the Michael Richartz Center at the USC-Talamban Campus. This collaborative inter-disciplinary study was made possible through the funding support of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI). The research team is composed of: Zona Hildegarde S. Amper (Project Leader), Jocelyn C. Cadampog (Health Care Consultant), Marjury E. Dino (Qualitative Research Coordinator), Devra Rae O. Gelbolingo (Quantitative Research Coordinator), Edith A. Labana (Oral Histories Coordinator), and Delilah R. Labajo (Archival Research Coordinator). The findings point to the need to strengthen the weakest frontline parts of the Primary Healthcare Services system, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

USC-CSRE wishes you a Merry Christmas, despite all the trials and tribulations. There are still a lot of reasons to celebrate and be thankful for! 🎄🎊🎉🎇

In line with USC-CSRE's research on 'The History and Current Status of Primary Health Care Services in Cebu', general findings of the study were presented to barangays in Argao and Badian for validation. The research project was conducted under a grant from the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI). Research results will be utilized as basis for future endeavors aligned with the improvement of health care services in the Province of Cebu.

USC-CSRE Director Zona Hildegarde S. Amper, Research Associate Marjury E. Dino, and former Director Fiscalina A. Nolasco participated in the Australian Awards Fellowship titled "Driving responsive actions for adolescent health in the Philippines utilising local data" hosted by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. This fellowship was made possible by the USC- Office of Population Studies Foundation, Inc. The fellows visited Australia in February and September 2025.

In preparation for data collection in the Visayas for Wave 8 of the Longitudinal Cohort Study on the Filipino Child (LCSFC), the USC-Center for Social Research and Education (CSRE) conducted a two-week Enumerators’ Training from July 14-24, 2025, at the USC-Talamban Campus. The training was spearheaded by the USC- Office of Population Studies Foundation, Inc. (OPS), the main program implementer of LCSFC. It brought together enumerators from the Cebuano, Waray, and Ilonggo field teams, equipping them with the necessary skills and ethical foundations for high-quality data collection. Asst. Prof. Marjury E. Dino leads the CSRE Team in this endeavor.

CSRE's research on Sama-Bajau culture presented during URC 2025

USC-CSRE Director Dr. Zona Hildegarde S. Amper and Research Associate Marjury E. Dino are recipients of the Australian Awards Fellowship, hosted by the Murdoch Children's Research Institution (MCRI). The fellowship offered by the Australian government's Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is titled "Driving responsive actions for adolescent health in the Philippines utilizing local data". The Philippine delegation was led by the Office of Population Studies Foundation, Inc. Former CSRE Director Dr. Fiscalina Nolasco is also one of the recipients of the Fellowship.

USC-CSRE ends 2024 with a Training-Workshop on Qualitative Data Analysis in cooperation with the Cebu Technological University-San Francisco (Camotes) Campus on December 16-18. This shall be facilitated by USC-CSRE Director, Dr. Zona Hildegarde S. Amper and Research Associate, Marjury E. Dino. Participants are faculty-researchers of CTU-SanFran.