ABSTRACT
This phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experience of Barangay Police Security Officer in handling emotionally distressed people. This study discussed the highlights on handling people who are experiencing fear, disgust, and hopelessness due to unfortunate events such as crimes, diseases, man-made accidents and natural disasters.
A total of 10 barangay tanods from 2 selected barangays were participated in the study, supplied by utilized questionnaire with the use of purposive sampling technique. Strategies to address study credibility included methodological analogy, back and forth engagement in the field, reliable description of experience, and data saturation.
Experience has shown that performance of BPSO depended on motivation they get from recruitment practices, communication and coordination with higher positioned Local Government Unit officials, rules and practices, promotion, programs, training and seminars. Study findings that understanding the complexity of emotionally distressed people can be developed through empathy, resourcefulness and presence of mind.
Keywords: phenomenological qualitative, emotionally distressed people, Barangay Police Security Officer, empathy, resourcefulness and presence of mind
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The life of being a Barangay Police Security Officer is not an easy job. Dealing with various crimes, diseases, natural disasters, and man-made accidents that congruent to emotionally distressed people requires tough personality as well as pertinent physical health. A day of a BPSO deals from light to highly critical and life-threatening scenarios. These may result in life risks, and physical and mental stress to the BPSO as well as the people they come across with if not properly handled.
This phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experience of Barangay Police Security Officers in handling emotionally distressed people. For an on-going program of our government did include any of the relevant matters that will touch and deal with proper handling of emotionally distressed people. This strand of research is discovery-oriented and the findings are not predetermined because variables will not be manipulated; instead, it is emergent in design. Research questions at the onset, as well as data collection procedures or protocols may change along the way depending on what ongoing data collection and inductive data analysis reveal (Creswell, 2014).
2.0 METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study utilized qualitative research with phenomenology as an approach. This strand of research is discovery-oriented and the findings are not predetermined because variables will not be manipulated; instead, it is emergent in design. Research questions at the onset, as well as data collection procedures or protocols may change along the way depending on what ongoing data collection and inductive data analysis reveal (Creswell, 2014). Qualitative research is also characterized by collection of data through prolonged contact with a life situation in natural settings by the researcher, who was the key instrument in gathering multiple sources of data, conducting inductive data analysis, and writing a holistic or rich account of the participants’ meanings of the phenomenon under study (Merriam, 2013).
This design was very applicable to this study because it suited the necessary approach on how to dig an in-depth investigation and analyzation through the lived experience of the BPSO. The importance of observing their behavior and emotion on answering each question during the individual interview was very essential in describing and reflecting on their testimonies which other research designs may not be supplied.
Research Instrument
The researcher constructed a guided questionnaire based on the lived experiences of the day-to-day duties of the barangay front-liners in handling emotionally distressed people. The instrument was validated by subject matter experts to guarantee its construct validity. It includes the four graduate school professors from Laguna College of Business and Arts (LCBA), one from Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation (MSEUF) main campus Lucena, and one from the respondents itself. It focused on different points of views such as psychosocial, educational, and general application of its purpose. The researcher conducts a recorded in-depth oral interview that will give a chance to explore detailed perceptions, opinions, beliefs, attitudes and decisions of the respondents themselves, to compare differences and similarities among reference group members and to avoid imitating ideas from others’ perspective. The interview started on November 06, 2020 and completed on November 11,2020.
Participants of the Study
The respondents of the study were the Barangay Police Security Officers (BPSO) or the Barangay Front-liners of the selected barangay of Santo Tomas City, Batangas for the year 2020. The selected 10 respondents were from the two (2) different barangay of Santo Tomas City, Batangas. The said barangays were those that have served as an official evacuation center from the recent Taal volcano eruption that happened last January 12, 2020 and those barangay front-liners who actively worked hand in hand in direct contact with the community in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher assumed that the participants of this study were experienced in handling emotionally distressed people since BPSO were well exposed to society due to the nature of their job. In this study emotionally distressed people refers to those people who were victims of crimes, diseases, man-made accidents and natural disasters. They were in despair at the point of their emotional turmoil such as fear, hopelessness and disgust due to uncertain and unwanted circumstances happening in their lives.
This study used purposeful sampling technique in which the researcher believes that it is the most suitable technique based on its applicability. The chosen sample was based on her belief that the chosen respondents can obtain relevant representative samples. According to Clemente, Julaton, and Orleans, (2016), this is a type of sampling that uses small sample sizes, its goal is to increase credibility, and not to encourage representativeness or the ability to generalize. The researcher acquired the total population of the barangay police officers by the help of the kind office of city hall of Santo Tomas City. Upon gathering the population, the researcher picked the selected barangay by using a purposeful sampling.
Data Gathering Procedure
The researcher was approved by the barangay captains of two different barangays from Santo Tomas City, Batangas to conduct the study to the respondents. The data was gathered in November 2020. The researcher personally approached two barangay Captains of the said barangay and discussed the purpose and objective of the study, and to set the date and time and identify the participants.
The researcher proceeds to the interview including asking permission to record, summarizing notes and gathering comprehensive information, insights, feelings, encountered experiences, and answers based on the questions to be answered by the participants while on their break and after their duty hours. The respondents were asked and instructed to an informed consent declaration stating that they agreed and understood the importance of the study and its confidentiality. The data gathering procedure was performed and finished for one week. Also, the researcher conducted a library research at Lyceum of the Philippines University, Batangas and Laguna College of Business and Arts; wherein books, websites, literature and related studies were used as substance and basis of primary and secondary data collection to improve the study. The researcher also dwelt the World Wide Web through the internet to obtain additional information relevant to the study. Finally, the gathered data was transcribed with the best of interpretation and understanding applying the utmost empathy and natural instinct.
Treatment of Qualitative Data
After gathering all the data from the interviews conducted, the researcher transcribed the interviews with the 10 barangay police security officer-participants. Thereupon, she sorted the similar responses of the participants and came up with subordinate themes. She then clustered into superordinate themes which summarized the feelings, points of view, and experiences of the co-researcher. Subsequently, observations and reflections of the researcher were derived from the themes. Supporting literature, articles and blogs related to the same experiences in dealing with the emotionally distressed people were also incorporated to seal the experiences.
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