The policy of the Philippine Department of Health on diarrhea-related health concerns was based on Santos-Ocampo's research on diarrheal disease. Her research on the relation of malnutrition and child growth and development was instrumental to the country's fight against child malnutrition.[2]
Santos-Ocampo also served as the Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila where she was noted for developing academic programs to increase the quality of health education offered by the university. She was also instrumental to the establishment of the National Institutes of Health, the National Graduate School of the Health Sciences, and the National Telehealth Center.[2]