ObjectiveThis study was done to study, using Andersen's Behavioral Model, factors affecting health service utilisation among older Filipinos.MethodsA total of 237 older people from Marikina City, Philippines, were randomly selected and surveyed face‐to‐face on factors affecting health service utilisation, specifically age, civil status, educational level, employment status, sex, health insurance coverage, household income, chronic disease status and perceived health status.ResultsSeventy‐nine per cent had used health services in the past year (mean: 5.7 visits per year). Female sex and having a chronic disease were significantly associated with health service utilisation. The odds of using health services was 3.1 times higher for those who had a chronic disease and 2.2 times higher for female sex, assuming all other variables are held constant.ConclusionFindings of this study support targeting men in health promotion campaigns and implementing population‐based, chronic disease screening programs to improve the reach of health services among Filipino older people.

Background: Women’s choice of place of delivery has implications on maternal and child mortality. This study aims to provide an updated and detailed comparison of prevalence and determinants of home delivery in the Philippines, and in urban and rural communities. Methods: Based on data from the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), we estimated the prevalence of home delivery and determined factors influencing women’s decision to deliver at home. Analyses were restricted to data from 7229 women who were cohabiting or married, and their last-born child using logistic regression methods for survey data. Results: There remain a considerable proportion of women aged 15–49 years old who delivered at home (17.92% (95% confidence interval (CI): 15.77, 20.30)). More women in rural areas delivered at home (23.53% (95% CI: 20.38, 26.99)) than their counterparts in urban areas (10.72% (95% CI: 8.23, 13.85)), reflecting a significant difference in the home delivery prevalence of women relative to their place of residence. Our regression analyses showed that there is a relatively greater effect observed for the rural population in most of the proximal factors considered including birth order, women’s decision-making power, and emergency preparedness during pregnancy. Wealth index has the most pronounced effect with a significant increase in odds of home delivery among urban and rural women of the lowest wealth categories. Conclusion: The use of institutional childbirth services remains suboptimal in the Philippines with significant disparities between urban and rural communities. Current strategies therefore need to adopt a multi-sectoral approach to address the complex factors influencing women’s decision on place of delivery. Targeted efforts specific to population groups should also be made to contextualize and co-create health care services and solutions that will motivate them to deliver in health facilities.

Background Teenage pregnancy is known to have physical, emotional, and psychosocial effects. Because of these risks, family planning and contraception messages have been disseminated in various forms of media, but their association with teenage pregnancy has not been studied previously in the Philippines. This study aims to examine the association between exposure to various family planning and contraception messages disseminated in various media channels and pregnancy among Filipino women aged 15–19. The study also intended to examine interactions between the different media channels where these family planning and contraception messages are being disseminated on their effect on teenage pregnancy. Methods We used data from the individual recode of the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey. We used logistic regression for survey data to  study the association between exposure to family planning and contraception messages and teenage pregnancy. Results Out of 5120 respondents, 44% of respondents have accessed information on contraception from the internet, 25% have heard information about contraception through the radio, 55% of respondents have heard about contraception via television, 15% have read about contraception in the newspapers and magazines, and only 6% have received information on contraception via short messaging service (SMS). There were 420 (8.56%) who have ever been pregnant. After adjusting for confounding variables, those who were exposed to family planning/contraceptive messages via the internet (aOR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.59, 1.35) and newspapers/magazines (aOR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.44, 1.41) have lower odds of teenage pregnancy, but no strong evidence of their effectiveness. On the other hand, exposure to family planning messages through the radio (aOR: 1.06; 95% CI: 0.71, 1.59), television (aOR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.65), and short messaging service (aOR: 1.29; 95% CI: 0.51, 3.22) marginally increase the risk of teenage pregnancy. We did not find any pairwise interactions between the different exposure variables. Conclusions Our results highlight the need to improve the content and key messages of contraceptive and family planning messages in the Philippines, especially those that are broadcasted online and in print media. There is also a need to increase the reach of these different family planning and contraception messages, especially by utilizing social media and other print and online media platforms commonly used by the youth.

Background: Consistent condom use had been perennially low in the Philippines, despite being a tested and proven public health intervention to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Considering the high fertility rate, teenage pregnancy rate, and the rapidly increasing incidence of HIV in the country, we identify the determinants of consistent condom use in the country. Methods: We used data from the individual recode of the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey. We used logistic regression for survey data to identify factors associated with consistent condom use. Results: Out of 25,074 respondents, only 261 (1.13%) have used condoms consistently with their most recent partner. Reach of information and education campaigns on contraceptive use via different media ranged from 62% via television to 7% via SMS. After adjusting for confounders, those who were able to ask their partners to use condoms during sexual intercourse has 6.10 times (adjusted odds ratio: 6.10; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): 2.00. 18.61) odds of consistent condom use than those who were unable to ask their partners to use condoms during sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, HIV knowledge (aOR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.39), hearing about contraception in television (aOR: 1.54; 95% CI: 0.99, 2.39), age (aOR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.00), and number of children (aOR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.20) have borderline significant associations with consistent condom use. Conclusions: The low percentage of those who use condoms consistently, together with the low reach of information and education campaigns highlight the need to further intensify information and education campaigns to promote consistent condom use. Interventions to improve sexual agency and promote HIV knowledge should be implemented to address the burden of unwanted pregnancies and HIV in the Philippines.

Background Consistent condom use in women, defined as the self-reported usage of male condom in every sexual encounter of the respondent with her most recent partner in the last 12 months, had been perennially low in the Philippines. This is despite consistent condom use being a tested and proven public health intervention to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Considering the high fertility rate, teenage pregnancy rate, and the rapidly increasing incidence of HIV in the country, we identified the determinants of consistent condom use in the Philippines. Methods We used data from the individual recode of the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey. We used logistic regression for survey data to identify factors associated with consistent condom use. Results Out of 25,074 respondents, only 261 (1.13%) have used condoms consistently with their most recent partner. Reach of information and education campaigns on contraceptive use via different media ranged from 62% via television to 7% via short messaging service. After adjusting for confounders, those who were able to ask their partners to use condoms during sexual intercourse have 6.18 times (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 6.18; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): 2.02. 18.94) greater odds of consistent condom use than those who were unable to ask their partners to use condoms during sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, HIV knowledge (aOR: 1.16; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.38) and hearing about contraception in television (aOR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.38) have weaker associations with consistent condom use. Conclusions The low percentage of those who use condoms consistently, together with the low reach of information and education campaigns, highlight the need to implement multi-faceted and context-specific interventions to promote sexual agency and/or consistent condom use to address the burden of unwanted pregnancies and HIV in the Philippines.