Rafael Deo F. Estanislao

The study explores demand for maternal and family planning services among beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, a conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines. We analyzed 390 households across six provinces in the Philippines through multi-stage sampling. Three models were created: (1) pregnancy during the program, (2) facility-based delivery, and (3) non-utilization of antenatal care visits. The findings show that: (1) For every peso increase in received amounts from the program, the odds of getting pregnant decreased by 0.31%, a negative but weak association, while having more children, living in a high mortality region, having a teenage child, living far (self-perceived) from the health center, marrying at a younger age, and not completing high school also increased the odds of being pregnant. (2) Non-delivery from a health facility was likely for those who lived far from a facility and in a high mortality region, and (3) having a teenager at home increased the likelihood of seeking antenatal visits, while those who have been married longer slacked behind in terms of antenatal visits. The study points to directions for policy and research on access and use of maternal and reproductive health services, and the role of adolescent-aged children.

The impacts of climate change on human health have been observed and projected in the Philippines as vector-borne and heat-related diseases have and continue to increase. As a response, the Philippine government has given priority to climate change and health as one of the main research funding topics. To guide in identifying more specific research topics, a scoping review was done to complement the agenda-setting process by mapping out the extent of climate change and health research done in the country. Research articles and grey literature published from 1980 to 2017 were searched from online databases and search engines, and a total of 34 quantitative studies were selected. Fifty-three percent of the health topics studied were about mosquito-borne diseases, particularly dengue fever. Seventy-nine percent of the studies reported evidence of positive associations between climate factors and health outcomes. Recommended broad research themes for funding were health vulnerability, health adaptation, and co-benefits. Other notable recommendations were the development of open data and reproducible modeling schemes. In conclusion, the scoping review was useful in providing a background for research agenda-setting; however, additional analyses or consultations should be complementary for added depth.