1. What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
I personally believe that the reasons for the high unmet need of Family Planning in the Philipinnes are unavailability of information, inability to access it financially, partner-related factors, and the perceived side effects of family planning. Improvement of contraceptive use can be achieved through counseling and education to help them decide or plan for their future and remove the barriers from using family planning. Access to information about the use of advantages of family planning should be available to the public. The broader spread of the information will help educate the child-bearing ages about the different family planning methods. Aside from that, support from the government would be beneficial to make this movement possible. Enhancing reproductive health services would also support normalizing family planning. Additionally, the Philippine Statistics Authority (2012) stated that unmet needs decrease with increasing education. Moreover, some methods of family planning are expensive. Despite the endeavor in promoting family planning, some cannot afford to use contraceptives. They may opt to choose a natural method or not use any one thing. Partner’s preferences have a significant influence on family planning. Some partners do not allow their significant other to use contraceptives because of fertility preferences (Machiyama et al., 2017). Furthermore, perceived side effects among women are one of their concerns about family planning. They fear the health risks, complications, and inconvenience of the method. In point of fact, contraceptives have direct side effects on the body, and proper education would be beneficial for women considering this method of family planning.
2. What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give at least 1-2 suggestions.
I would suggest organizing services for the public. This would include counseling, health teaching, and motivational discussions. In this way, they can be knowledgeable about family planning and utilize the available services. Also, information about family planning should be more expansive and accessible to the public, especially in social media, wherein most people spend their time nowadays. The importance and benefits of family planning should be well-known by the general public in order to increase its use in the country.
References:
Machiyama, K., Casterline, J. B., Mumah, J. N., Huda, F. A., Obare, F., Odwe, G., Kabiru, C. W., Yeasmin, S., & Clealand, J. (2017). Reasons for unmet need for family planning, with attention to the measurement of fertility preferences: protocol for a multi-sit. CORE. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12978-016-0268-z.pdf
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2012, May 25). Unmet Need for Family Planning Remains High (Results from the 2011 Family Health Survey). Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://psa.gov.ph/content/unmet-need-family-planning-remains-high-results-2011-family-health-survey