PUBLIC HEALTH FORUM
The Public Health Forum (PHF) is the flagship project of AMSA-SOMA. The first PHF was held in 2016 but it was only in 2018 that AMSA-SOMA's PHF was opened to the general public particularly to medical students and students of allied health professions all over Cebu City with over 200 delegates. The PHF 2018 won the national GAWAD AMSA Award in that same year. It was instrumental in introducing AMSA to different medical schools and paved the way for these six medical schools in Cebu City to form their own AMSA-affiliated organizations. PHF 2019 was even a bigger event as it was attended by over 300 delegates with speakers coming from the national capital region in collaboration with the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians (PSPHP).
The objectives of the Public Health Forum is to educate pre-medical and medical
students on the form and function of the Philippine public healthcare system, to discuss the various needs of each public healthcare stakeholders and the key issues they are currently facing, and to provide an avenue for pre-medical and medical students from different schools to discuss and be aware of their role in solving key public health issues.
PUBLIC HEALTH FORUM 2018
The Public Health Forum theme for the year 2018 was, TAYTAYAN: Bridging Gaps In Health Care Needs Catalyzing Changes Thru Education
PUBLIC HEALTH FORUM 2019
Public Health Forum 2019, themed TAGUBTOB: Resonating Healthcare Development Through a Weave of Multi-Sectoralism, aims to provide an avenue for education and discussion regarding present health issues and to understand how differing sectors impact healthcare and its delivery. It is a one-day event of composed plenary and parallel sessions.
PUBLIC HEALTH FORUM 2020
The Public Health Forum 2020, with the theme, ANINAG: Era in "Envisioning A New Attaining Health For All", faced the challenge brought by the COVID-19 pandemic AMSA-SOMA's PHF took on a novel platform by having an online gathering of esteemed and renowned speakers, clinicians, public health specialists and key persons in different sectors to discuss relevant issues on various topics on public health, community health, research and other social determinants of health. The ePHF, a premier website including three live webinar sessions with free access to the public, was launched last December 2020 to allow delegates to watch. listen and learn at their most convenient time and interact with the speakers asynchronously. The first of its kind, AMSA-SOMA's ePHF in collaboration with Unilab Foundation Inc., provided an innovative way of learning and a holistic avenue to discuss and engage the delegates on public health issues relevant to the times.