From the first local report of a suspected case on January 22, 2020, the COVID-19
pandemic has spread exponentially (Edrada et al., 2020). While initially considered a ‘great
equalizer,’ the movement of the virus to the country’s urban and urban poor population,
whose greatest concentration is in Metro Manila, has instead, magnified inequalities in
incidences of job insecurity, food insecurity, gaps in health literacy, and more (Villarama et
al., 2020; PIDS, 1995). Health and poor health, then, are further emphasized as being agents
of human impact that exist at the nexus of other societal sectors. Consequently, the
recognition of controlling COVID-19 and mobilizing efforts for prevention as a global and
local priority brings to the fore the capabilities or factors that influence compliance with
standard health protocols. Among these factors is health-seeking behavior (HSB), a
multi-dimensional concept defined as any action taken by individuals to remedy their
perceived ill-health (Poortaghi et al., 2015; Basch et al., 2018). Nurtured at the individual and
community level, these HSBs reflect psychosocial resources and other contexts including
socioeconomic conditions, health care services and their quality and availability, and
conceptions of health (Basch et al., 2018). It is, therefore, significant to understand these
behaviors in the pandemic context not only to reduce the burden of disease but also to inform
relevant stakeholders of the determinants of HSBs for points of intervention. Of relevance to
this study is how social development organizations, specifically Lingap Pangkabataan Inc.
(LPI), can find a place in the control and management of COVID-19.
Existing literature characterizes the HSB of the urban population in the Philippines in
two ways. Firstly, this population and Filipinos at large tend to ignore or delay preventative
measures until the illness becomes evident (PIDS, 1995; Capuno et al., 2017; de Guzman et
al., 2020). Secondly, there is a dependency on doctors “even for minor complaints to make
the treatment of diseases more crisis-oriented, rather than preventative” (PIDS, 1995). With
this conception of health as the mere absence of disease thus becoming a prime barrier to
seeking health and availing of health services, the unique position of the urban population as
receiving “crisis aid” and forms of “crisis management” in light of the pandemic becomes
concerning. There is thus, an added significance of studying HSB in this crisis context as to
orient and reframe health as a “resource for everyday life” instead of the mere absence of
disease by the creation of sustainable and participatory interventions that engage
communities (WHO, 1986). It is in this area wherein the researchers believe LPI can make
the biggest contribution.