Improving the quality of family planning services in the Philippines: Barriers and opportunities.

We conducted qualitative research with family planning clients, potential clients, and service providers on barriers and opportunities for improving the quality of family planning services in the Philippines. The family planning service providers included the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of the health system. Our goal was to aid in developing more effective family planning quality improvement (QI) programs. Our methods included focus groups, key informant interviews and thematic content analysis of the qualitative data. We found four themes: the components of quality of family planning care; factors influencing quality; challenges for improving quality; and provider bias in the types of family planning services offered to clients. We identified five implications for QI, including: reduce provider bias; level off the understanding of QI concepts and roles among the different family planning service providers; involve men more actively; design new digital communication strategies for reaching clients and potential clients; and explore collaborations with private sector pharmacies. The findings from this study can guide the development of a pilot family planning QI programme in the Philippines. The findings provide themes and practical insights for an intervention-focused theory of change on how to improve current programs, design new programs, be more responsive to the needs and concerns of clients and potential clients and be well-accepted and sustained by providers. This can lay the groundwork for improving family planning outcomes and reducing teenage pregnancy rates and the unmet need for family planning throughout the Philippines.

Knowledge on and Membership in PhilHealth: The Case of Overseas Filipino Workers.

This paper describes the level of knowledge on and membership in PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). It analytically examines the sociodemographic predictors of knowledge on and membership in PhilHealth. Results reveal that 76% of the respondents involved in the study are PhilHealth members. Generally, respondents' level of knowledge about the insurance is moderate. Results of regression analysis reveal that sex/gender (BETA = -.319) and income (BETA = .352) predict membership in PhilHealth. Meanwhile, income (BETA = .295) and marital status (BETA = -.164) predict the level of knowledge on PhilHealth. The results indicate that those with income above PhP40,000 (approximately USD785) are the ones knowledgeable about PhilHealth. Moreover, OFWs with partners are more knowledgeable about the insurance compared to those who are not married or without partners. The results offer several insights regarding PhilHealth membership among OFWs. First, OFWs with higher income tend to become members of PhilHealth. Second, women are less likely to become members, as many of them are working in the service sectors and are generally earning lower income than their male counterparts. This result indicates that women OFWs should be encouraged to become PhilHealth members, especially if their left-behind partners or husbands are not members. This is to ensure that left-behind family members will be able to access health services.