Answer the following questions and post your answers here. Cite references if possible.
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What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Unmet need for family planning pertains to the gap between women’s reproductive desire to avoid pregnancy and contraceptive behavior, i.e., the failure to translate stated desire to avoid pregnancy into pregnancy-prevention behavior (Machiyama, et al, 2017). Some possible reasons for the high unmet need of FP are as follows:
- Inaccessibility of contraception services that are of good quality and affordable.
- Fear of health side effects related to lack of sufficient knowledge
- Socio-cultural normative acceptability (e.g., religious concerns)
- Social acceptability (e.g., family and spouse approval)
- Uncertainty and ambivalence about the desire to avoid pregnancy
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What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
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Strengthen fragile healthcare delivery systems
A failing healthcare delivery system will not be able to meet and deliver the family planning needs of the population. Without political commitment to adopt new approaches to reduce the needs of women, the issue can never be solved. The State is a critical agent in securing and offering contraceptives as a human right through their health systems. The government has to be accountable for the health and well-being of their citizens.
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Focus on educating girls and youth.
Factors such as fear and ambivalence can be solved through the provision of sufficient and correct information. It is important to address the teenage curiosity with evidence-based information so they will be enabled to make informed sexual health decisions, and would then be more likely to practice safe sex, delay sexual relationships, and minimize risk for unplanned pregnancies.
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Strengthen skills and challenge biases of providers and supervisors.
Provide information and training for basic counseling skills to barangay-level community health workers. Aside from this, it is also important to address the tendency of providers to emphasize condoms and neglect other contraceptive methods.. Correct any wrong assumptions about contraceptive use for people living with HIV (PLHIV), and support the right of PLHIV to enjoy healthy sexual relationships and to become pregnant, if desired.
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REFERENCES
Belanger, E. & Mutunga, A. (2016). 4 Ways to strengthen family planning programs. https://www.devex.com/news/4-ways-to-strengthen-family-planning-programs-88811
Machiyama, K., Casterline, J. B., Mumah, J. N., Huda, F. A., Obare, F., Odwe, G., ... & Cleland, J. (2017). Reasons for unmet need for family planning, with attention to the measurement of fertility preferences: protocol for a multi-site cohort study. Reproductive health, 14(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0268-z