Issues in Community Health

8/8/2019 Issues in Community Health

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ISSUES IN COMMUNITY

HEALTH

FAMILY PLANNING AWARENESS

Maricel O. Long R.N.



INTRODUCTION

The Philippine family planning

program began in the 1970s and

reflected a concern with rapidpopulation growth and inadequate

maternal and child health (MCH).

Over the past two decades, the

program has had varying degrees of political support and, consequently,

somewhat erratic implementation.



In the past six years, there has been

an attempt to revive training of MCHand family planning workers and

increase the choice of contraceptive

methods.Population control is a touchy issue in

the predominantly Catholic

Philippines, where the church blasts

as evil



and immoral any campaign to

promote the use of artificialcontraceptives. According to the UNpopulation fund, the philippines has amaternal mortality ratio of 200 deathsevery 100,000 births. This means onedead mother for every 500 live birth.



DEFINITION

Family Planning ± Birth Control or

Contraception Methods. Experts use

the broader term family planning for the process of making decisions

about when to have children and how

many children to have, as well as

strategies for achieving these goals.



Birth Control or Contraception,

deliberate prevention of pregnancy

using any of several methods. Birthcontrol prevents a female sex cell

(egg) from being fertilized by a male

sex cell (sperm) and implanting in the

uterus.



EFFECTIVENESS

No birth control method, other than

abstinence from sex, is 100 percent

effective in preventing pregnancy.Some methods are more effective

than others, scientists use two types

of pregnancy rates when describing

effectiveness.



Method effectiveness, or perfect use,is the percentage of pregnancies thatoccur when a particular method isused correctly and consistently with

each act of sexual intercourse.User effectiveness, or typical use, isthe percentage of pregnancies thatresult from average use of themethod, which accounts for improper or inconsistent use.



TYPES OF BIRTH CONTROL

METHOD

Barrier Method

. Male Co do

. Fe ale Co do3. Dia hra

4. Cer i al Ca

. S er i ide



Intrauterine device (IUD)

Hormonal Contraceptives

. irt Control ill

. Hormonal Implant3. Contraceptive Injection

4. Contraceptive in

. Contraceptive atc



Surgical Sterilization

1. A vasectomy.

2. Tubal sterilization

Emergency Contraception

Fertility Awareness Methods

1. Calendar Charting

2. Basal Body Temperature Measurement

. Cervical Mucus Monitoring



WithdrawalContinuous Abstinence



FACTORS IN FAMILY PLANNING

Educational Attainment

Religion

Knowledge about Family PlanningKnowledge about the Methods of Family Planning

Family Planning Used

Reasons for Not Using Family Method

Benefits of Family Planning



Types of Health Facilities Visited

Health Facility Where Most PregnantWomen Had Their Consultation

Pregnant Women who visited health

care facilities (Sentrong Sigla)Pregnant Women who visits healthfacilities for Family Planning advice.

Importance of Family PlanningPregnant women that agrees anddisagrees on Family Planning



RESEARCH FINDINGS #1

Low awareness of contraceptivesplagues in provinces of the

Philippines



The lack of a national policy on artificial familyplanning has led to inconsistent levels of awareness

of contraceptives in the countryside, with threeprovinces registering only two percent awareness of women in Samar, Surigao del Sur and Sorsogon of artificial family planning methods

Zenaida Dy Recidoro, chief health program officer

of the DOH Safe Motherhood Program, said the lowawareness of other family planning methods couldbe a reflection of the region's cultural or religious

beliefs.Culture and religious beliefs play animportant role in the promotion of artificial

family planning methods in the countryside.She said some local government officialsopenly oppose the promotion of contraceptives because it is against Catholic

teaching.



Some doctors in the three provinces also do not

believe in artificial family planning methods but onlypromote scientific natural family planning. Someschools in the three provinces also do not teachfamily planning.

Sorsogon and Surigao del Sur were chosen by the

DOH as pilot sites of its Safe Motherhood Projectbecause of their low contraceptive prevalence rateand high maternal and infant mortality rates.

Benjamin de Leon, president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development, says the low

awareness in contraceptives in the countryside isreflective of an even bigger problem: the lack of anational policy on artificial family planning methods.



The problem with not having a national policy onartificial family planning is that there is no nationalleadership. There has to be political will comingfrom above to ensure that LGU execs will follow.That is the dimension that is lacking right now.

Secretary Francisco Duque said the DOH isconcentrating on promoting scientific natural familyplanning nationwide while leaving it up to localgovernment units to form their own policies onpromoting artificial family planning methods. Headmitted that since the Philippines is primarily aCatholic country, the DOH is committed topromoting family planning methods "that abide by

Catholic teaching.The DOH baseline survey showed that 6 % of health facilities in Surigao del Sur reported lack of supply of pills while 62% reported lack of injectablesduring the survey period and 61% percent having

stock-outs of intra-uterine devices during the period.



De Leon said distribution has been a perennialproblem of the DOH because of the geographicalchallenges posed by some regions. However, hesaid distance should not be an excuse for thegovernment to stop the distribution of much neededcontraceptives in poor areas. He said one brightspot in Congress was the inclusion of a P180 millionbudget for family planning in the 2007 General

Appropriations Act. "I am proud that thegovernment has appropriated a budget for familyplanning. It only shows that the government is notbegging from USAID to provide us withcontraceptives. Family planning is important right

now because we could hit 100 million populationsby 2018. There is going to be an imbalance onpopulation and resources for as long as we are notable to control the growth rate of our presentpopulation.



RESEARCH FINDINGS #2

Family Planning: Its Economic andPsychosocial Influences on theLives of Women in Western

Visayas



In focus group discussions, men and womenexpressed fears about contraceptive side effects

and gave this concern as a reason for not usingfamily planning.

Family planning users were more likely to engage inpaid work than non-users. Family planning useprovided increased economic opportunities for

women, including opportunities to earn a living andto become more efficient workers.

Women who used family planning were more likelyto participate in community activities, such asParent-Teacher Associations, religiousorganizations and beautification projects. Women

found community activities relaxing, and said theseactivities allowed them to socialize and interact withtheir peers. Women reported that socialparticipation gave them satisfaction and increasedtheir sense of self-worth.



CONCLUSION

In the Philippines 11 women die eachday from pregnancy and birthcomplications and most of these

deaths are preventable. Poor womenand infants carry the most risk of deathand disability from lack of access toreproductive health services. Sosioeconomic disparity is very evidentbetween the rich and the poor inaccessing reproductive healthservices.



The poorest women have two more

children than they want, while therichest experience a gap of less thanone child. This means the unmet needfor family planning is particularly high

among poor women in need of help inpreventing unintended pregnancy.They face greater risks and even deathform pregnancy and childbirth

complications.



Among the benefits of family planning

often cited by contraceptive users areimprovements in women's health andthe family's economic status. Morefreedom to participate in the work force

and more time to participate incommunity activities. Women whoused family planning were generallymore satisfied with their lives and more

likely to share in household decision-making. Domestic violence was still aconcern due to suspected infidelityfor many women in western Visayas.



RECOMMENDATION

There should be continuous efforts toimprove the family planning program,including an effort to provide integrated

reproductive health. Special attentionneeds to be given to helping womendeal with side effects. Because of demands on women's time at homeand in the work place, health servicesshould be offered at times and placesconvenient to women; for example, onweekends or after normal businesshours.



Policy-makers should be concerned

about the need for more employmentopportunities for women, and shouldencourage women to take on greater leadership roles in the community.

Community leaders should developstrategies to minimize and eliminatedomestic violence and should developreferral systems to respond to victim's

needs in a timely manner.



THANK YOU VERY

MUCH!!!

Issues in Community Health

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