Dr. Carla Marie Asis - Pediatric Rheumatologist

26/05/2026

Excited to share that three policy briefs I wrote as part of the Program on Health Systems Development at UP have just been published by the UP CIDS. All three are based on the findings of the Philippine Primary Care Studies, which is a large-scale research initiative that tested real-world interventions to strengthen primary care across urban, rural, and remote communities in the Philippines. These papers translate research into concrete recommendations for how the Universal Health Care Law can be implemented more equitably in the Philippines.

Context Drives Success examines how the same set of primary care interventions can produce very different outcomes depending on the setting. https://cids.up.edu.ph/policy-brief/context-drives-success-tailoring-primary-care-strategies-equitable-universal-health-coverage-philippines/

Enhancing Frontline Capacity looks at how even brief, targeted training workshops can meaningfully improve the knowledge of nurses, midwives, and barangay health workers, who are the backbone of primary care in underserved communities. https://cids.up.edu.ph/policy-brief/enhancing-frontline-capacity-lessons-philippine-primary-care-studies-training-interventions-primary-care-providers/

Toward Inclusive Digital Health explores the barriers to telemedicine adoption across urban, rural, and remote areas, and proposes concrete, ground-level solutions for expanding access. https://cids.up.edu.ph/policy-brief/inclusive-digital-health-policy-solutions-expand-telemedicine-philippines/

Research is most valuable when it informs action and reaches people who can make change happen. Contributing to that has always been something I’ve aspired to.

Context Drives Success: Tailoring Primary Care Strategies for Equitable Universal Health Coverage in the Philippines

14/04/2026

I’m pleased to share that I co-authored two recent publications related to the APLAR consensus recommendations for childhood arthritis in the Asia Pacific. It's such an honor to have contributed to work that supports more context-relevant guidance for rheumatology practice in our region. Grateful to my co-authors and collaborators for this opportunity.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1756-185x.70640

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1756-185x.70639

10/09/2025

Bringing Filipino voice to global work. Honored to contribute in shaping evidence-based care for children with idiopathic arthritis across Asia. 🙏🏼

24/08/2025

New Clinic Details as of August 25, 2025
Note new contact number for Asian Hospital and Medical Center 👩🏻‍⚕️ You may contact +639159128703 in case any of the other numbers cannot be reached.

13/01/2025

Updated clinic schedule 🤓

24/02/2024

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬/𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭/𝐬?

Early childhood (birth to 8 years) is definitely not the best time. Children of this age are simply not socially and emotionally ready to handle social media yet. Beyond this age group, though, is a gray area where you should consider your child’s sensitivity to criticism, ability to read social cues (such as understanding tones like sarcasm, reading between the lines, and knowledge on social discrimination), and impulse control (see my previous post for a better understanding). Based on these, you’d understand that readiness for social media after early childhood goes beyond just age. A young teenager can be more responsible about what she posts than a woman in her 50’s! And if we want our kids to be a responsible citizen of the world of social media, we can’t just let them figure it out on their own. We have to be there for them.

Leaving some tips here on how you can prepare your children for their own social media account/s and how you can guide them through it ☺️🫶🏼

23/02/2024

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬? 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?

The basic purpose of phones remain - to connect people. And in the case of you and your child, to stay connected as her world gets bigger. There comes a time when a phone totally makes sense! Let me help you in your endeavor to be more discerning before handing your child his own phone. Here are some good questions to consider:

📱 How well does your child take care of their personal belongings, especially expensive things?
A phone is not only expensive in terms of price, but in terms of what it may contain as well (private information, foremost). Your child needs to learn “responsibility” for important items.

📱How well does your child handle money?
Apps, games, scams - giving your child a phone exposes her to “spending” opportunities, and so it is important that she knows the value of money.

📱How sensitive is your child to criticism?
Giving your child a phone opens her to the world of social media where a lot of people feel that they are entitled to share their opinions (no holds barred), and where your child is at risk to be a casualty. Your child needs to know how to handle negative comments.

📱Does your child usually say or do things that they will regret?
As much as other people can share whatever they want, your child can feel like doing the same. Personal data, private matters like family issues, emotional outbursts - these are just some of the things that we hope our children will not post about.

📱How well does your child respond to screen time limits?
Full-grown adults can find themselves struggling keeping their screen time at a healthy level, how much more kids who cry over dessert limits AND who need more time being physically active (at least an hour daily, compared to 30 mins daily for adults).

If you think your child isn’t ready yet in these aspects, consider holding off on the phone first. In the meantime, check my stories for tips on how you can prepare your child for her first phone and avoid some hazards that they don’t mention on the box or manual 😉

14/02/2024

Did you know that the basic foundation and the critical aspects of a person’s brain architecture are established WELL BEFORE a child enters school?

𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.

Science tells us that the healthy development of a child’s brain depends on the quality and reliability of his/her RELATIONSHIPS with the important people in his/her life. During early childhood, NURTURING AND STABLE RELATIONSHIPS with caring adults take precedence over academic work.

“Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 – intellectual, social, emotional, physical, behavioral, and moral. The quality and stability of a child’s human relationships in the early years lay the foundation for a wide range of later 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 – self-confidence and sound mental health, motivation to learn, achievement in school and later in life, the ability to control aggressive impulses and resolve conflicts in non-violent ways, knowing the difference between right and wrong, having the capacity to develop and sustain casual friendships and intimate relationships, and ultimately to be a successful parent oneself.”

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰…

It’s NOT the most popular toddler milk
NOT the most expensive vitamins
NOT the highest rated educational toy
NOT the most recommended YouTube channel for babies and toddlers
NOT even a combination of these!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬/𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘❤️𝐔.

…
REFERENCE: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University