Janssen Philippines, UP-NIH and FACE Inc. Launch Country’s First Mental Health Information System

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, a division of Johnson & Johnson (Philippines), Inc. (“Janssen”), recently partnered with the University of the Philippines–National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) and the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical Epidemiology, Inc. (FACE, Inc.) to pioneer the creation of the country’s very first integrated mental health information system. To be managed by the UP-NIH and supported by psychiatrists nationwide, the system aims to address the lack of data needed in order to provide comprehensive information and solutions for mental illness patients around the Philippines.

The creation of an information system was prompted by a larger campaign – the Janssen’s Into the Light Project— which aims to eliminate the stigma against mental illness by promoting the awareness and understanding of its implications on individuals, communities, and on a National-scale. With an initial focus on data-collection for patients suffering with schizophrenia, the Into the Light project was born with the understanding that mental health problems are both a cause and a consequence of poverty.

“There is a vicious cycle between poverty and mental illness. The rate of mental disorders and the need for care is highest among disadvantaged people, yet these are precisely the groups with the lowest access to appropriate services. The consequences are enormous in terms of disability, human suffering and economic loss. When left untreated, mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, creates a socio-economic burden”, shares Dr. Michael Sionzon, consultant to Janssen and to the Department of Psychiatry at the Philippine General Hospital.

Signing the memorandum of agreement (Contributed photo)

With a target completion date of April 2014, the information system will be rolled out in ten initial pilot sites nation-wide come May. The collective goal of the Group is to have the database become the basis for ongoing and sustainable mental health research. “Mental illness patients, particularly those with schizophrenia, can live normal and productive lives given proper care, treatment, and therapy. With the database, we hope to better understand the number of patients there are in the Philippines and their progress. This will help us focus on specific programs needed for patients and their families,” states Dr. Sionzon.

When asked of the Group’s specific longer term goals, Dr. Sionzon shares, “We are hoping for increased national priority for the coverage of medication and in-patient services, the provision of psychosocial therapy and other mental health services and more opportunities during the recovery phase, which is prior to reintegration to society and workforce. We have and will continue to passionately pursue bringing conversations on mental illness to the mainstream, and break the bonds of discrimination and stigma.”

Photo above: Formalizing  the partnership between Janssen Philippines, UP-National Institutes of Health and FACE Inc. for the “Into the Light” project are (shaking hands, from left)  Janssen Philippines General Manager Jason Carroll and  FACE Inc. President Dr. Jacinto Blas Mantaring III;  (from left)  Janssen Philippines Medical Director Dr. Roberto Salvino; Dr. Anselmo Tronco, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, UP College of Medicine; “Into the Light” Project Leader Professor Maria Lourdes Amarillo; and Dr. Cynthia Leynes, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, UP-Philippine General Hospital.  Memorandum of Agreement signatories who are not in photo are  Dr. Vicente Belizario, Executive Director, University of the Philippines (UP)-National Institute of Health, and Dr. Marissa Alejandria, Director, Institute of Clinical Epidemiology-National Institutes of Health.(Contributed photo)